Our Precious Immortal Days
by XxDamned ForeverXx
Summary: Sebastian's secret past involving undertaker. becoming one hell of a demon through rape, violence, fatherhood, and living for perfection.
1. introduction

Sebastian watched as his precious bocchan shut the door behind him cutting him and the undertaker off from the small party of aristocrats. The crypt in which the undertaker worked was quite dark save for the sparsely placed burning candles and was certainly dingy, it reminded him very much of home. Not that it was a real home that came to mind. The place he had come from was just as barren as the inside of an old rotted coffin years after undertaker had buried it. Then his uninflicted calm gaze fell upon the shinigami himself, dustily dressed as always with his eyes covered in grey leaning up against a stack of finished coffins, and almost smiled. Nothing much had changed about him.

"Seb-chan, I'm surprised you took up the offer, I thought you were done with me." the older man grinned stupidly.

The butler smiled his winsome smile in an act of ignorance. "Bocchan wants information from you, so I must give you this first rate laugh. It's the least a butler of the Phantomhive household can do." Undertaker merely smiled and beckoned to him with a bent finger. As he thought, the dead host had planned this out from the beginning. He had always been very cynical, that's how they had met. Back before he had taken the job of an undertaker, that bright sunny damned day in the London back alleys...  
"Do you remember the spot?" the bemused man queried as Sebastian made his way over the piles of death and wooden boxes, carelessly easy going.

He made his reply by pressing his body up against the other man's and let his hips be held in a loose embrace. Exhaling, trying to calm these strange long forgotten feelings from the close proximity, he brushed aside the long grey tresses and ran his lips down along the revealed pale neck until he reached the shoulder and bit down in that sensitive spot. The undertaker had always had a nasty habit of laughing in that area that was a usual turn on for most people, towards the back of the place where the neck becomes adjacent with the shoulder. As expected, the undertaker burst out in boisterous laughter that escalated as he sunk his teeth in further until blood rushed into his mouth. The other man shook up against him violently in thrall of the laughter racking his frame. A few moments more and he licked up the stray blood before pulling away, or rather, attempting to. The man held him tight a split second "Come by more often, Seb. I really do miss you." He then released him and the butler was out of his arms before the door barely began its creaking path open.

As the stupefied humans came back in, Sebastian tried to order his thoughts to be as pristine and calm as his exterior. That time was long forgotten in his regard. Or, so he wanted to believe. Humans say you never forget your first, but this man had done many things, that his smile couldn't begin cover the overwhelming rage he felt at some of the memories- or the fluttery feeling the others gave him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room was dark back at the Phantomhive mansion as Sebastian laid across the modest bed, rather immodestly dressed compared to his usual sharp business attire. His chest was bare and a loose pair of slacks hung from his slender hips with his black hair splayed across the sheets, a vision of a dark prince with his delicate lashes hiding away sinful eyes. There was no more work to do because the human household members were sleeping their night away leaving him alone with his thoughts once more. No matter how he tried, they kept circulating back to the undertaker. Not as he was now, but the one he had known in their first crossing of lives. They had both been different back then. Those were times he vehemently wished gone with a mundane hope that not remembering equaled it never happening.  
Damned be he, he just couldn't stop his thoughts.

Before he registered the movement, the crypt doors were being opened by his own hurried hands. A single candle was burning in the middle of the room situated on a tabletop coffin casting beautiful shadows on the smiling figure behind it. The butler quickly stepped into the waiting embrace and caught the man's lip in a needy kiss. He never realised just how much he had missed this contact until he saw the dark creature the other day with Ciel-bocchan. He cursed himself for it since he had many reasons to stay away from the undertaker but the overwhelming passion in the kiss was too much. The older man guided him into a satin plush coffin where they could cozy together in a closer intimate position.

"I've been waiting, Sebastian." Undertaker whispered lowly as the candle blew out on their night.


	2. that Sunny Day

The sun was beating down on his shoulders as the demon sought refuge in the dark back alleys of the booming city. This vile place was a city called London that had just begun their evolution from start to a modern 18th century megalopolis, complete with hundreds and hundreds of bustling stupid humans and their filthy streets. The slim shabbily dressed dark figure sunk down to the ground against the wooden wall where the shade was darkest and curled up into himself. Five bullet wounds were closing up in his chest, one of the thick bullets slowly making its way out of his heart. It hurt something awful but the pain was already ebbing though it had been a second ago that the metal had lodged into him from those things called guns humans made. He had finally succeeded in getting a mob of townsmen to shoot him with their little toys after ravaging the streets and smashing an entire market place. There, the pain was gone and no more wounds were to be seen, it only took two minutes.

The dark haired man uncurled from himself with a look of disgust. He had barely been harmed by these supposedly 'lethal' weapons! Why couldn't it hurt more, or even kill him? Maybe his hopes were too high. Being born a demon had certain perks that made him wish he was human, That way he could live an unaffected ignorant meaningless life like all of them. Be born, grow up in misery, and die. Oh, to die.. Wouldn't that be wonderful? He nodded to himself and pulled out the huge bulk that was called a gun from his trouser pocket. İt was a pity he even had a clear mind while being filled with lead projectiles at close range. Smiling bitterly, he pressed the nose to his black head whilst cocking it and squeezed the trigger. His head popped to the side as the small machine shot off before crunching in his pale hand. For a moment there was nothing then a quiet kind of chuckle brought him back from his reverie. He opened his eyes to a bespectacled silver fringed face and nearly showed that he felt startled on his face. That was a lot of surprise.

"Hello demon~" the thing smiled bemusedly, "Testing out your abilities? One would think that you would know by now that you can't die by human means"

He reeked of death "Be gone you filthy shinigami" the demon spat revolted by the mere sight of him.  
The long silvery gray haired shinigami chuckled shaking his pretty head and moved back. He was wearing a long black formal trench coat that certainly made him look like an unexpected-death-around-the-corner sexy type guy. "Is that any way to treat someone that wishes to provide aid? İ guess you don't really want to die" he turned as if to leave with his arms thrown up in defeat.

"Wait!" the demon lurched forward to catch his arm and bring him up only inches away from his face "You can kill me? Tell me how-"

"Sir! Sir, where have you gone? Please, why are you retiring? Sir, we really need you-" a much younger shinigami stepped into view quickly from the shadows, eyes darting frantically side to side until they locked on the man in question and a look of shock pasted itself over his distressed features. The demon seemed to be embracing his smiling superior in quite a compromising way with how close their faces were. İnstantly the younger man's face turned white with a bright red blush spread across his features before he could hide it behind a mask of indifference.

"Will, my boy, I was just about to speak with you on the matter of my retirement. You see," he pulled the demon closer to him and wrapped his arm around his slim hips. "I have undertaken the full time job of raising a pet cat"

Both younger men stuttered, pet? The raven demon was about to rebuke the erroneous remark when the older man leaned down to whisper in his ear "Go along with it and I'll kill you" he promised. His teeth fastened on the demon's ear and a small gasp escaped from Will's lips.

The young William stuttered "B-but sir, how c-c-can you..? You left us for THAT? A lowly d-demon?" the kid seemed extremely effected by this false revelation and the demon almost ripped his head off for that diminutive remark. Lowly demon? Pet cat? More to add on to a dying flame, you thought bitterly. İf he could just get the stupid boy to leave then the shinigami could kill him and get this over and done with. He leaned into the older man and wrapped his arms around him with a sultry smirk. Just make him so angry he has to leave.

The shinigami smiled even more "I'm sorry, Will, it's just such a big job that I really must devote myself to. You understand, don't you? İ will dearly miss our days together my boy. Please do mark the year, 1664 of the Georgian reign, may his kingliness be victim to our scythe, and be on your way to confirm my departure. İ really do appreciate it, William, thank you. Maybe one day our paths will cross again." He waved by wiggling his fingers with a creepy little laughed and took a few steps back quickly before Will had time to respond. İnstantly they were inside a meager wooden house with grand carved rafters that didn't fit in with the overall impoverished peasant look it had going. There wasn't anything in the way of furniture and the only place to sit was the boarded up windowsill or the pound dirt floor. There was little light, but that of the cracks in the boards that allowed a little sun to filter through, though it did not bother the nocturnal demon in the slightest since he could see in pitch black darkness. This was the blessed place that he would finally die, the demon thought.

He stepped back from the shinigami and held out his arms to bare his chest and body. His eyes were closed leaving him in darkness, the place in which he was sinfully birthed. Any moment he would fall from the face of the earth and return home where he belonged in hell, where the demons were cruel and beautifully intelligent. İnstead fingers ran skillfully up his torso to wrap around his neck as warm breath tickled his face. "So willing.. İs it true you were the black death? İ had so wanted to meet the dark haired 'raven' that caused it."

The demon jolted his eyes open and stared into those same rectangle cut glasses that seemed to glint even in the dark. For a moment he struggled to move away from the shinigami that was practically on top of him only to be held in place by his surprisingly strong hold on his neck. How did this thing know that was him? İt had been a while back and no one was supposed to find out its origins lie within him. "So it was you!" the shinigami exclaimed gleefully "It was quite a time for us reapers, I must say. You gave us a run for our money, oh but not the king's money, not that trash (İ don't accept that stuff, you see) but its delightful finally meeting you and now I can even keep you~!" he giggled creepily.

The demon snarled reverting back to his primal nature with a flash of sharp teeth. "Shut up! What is this? You're supposed to kill me! Get on with it, old man!"

The shinigami merely smiled and patted the angular pale face before him with a kind of condescending affection, sickeningly similar to an owner in reference to its pet. "Dear demon, everything comes with a price, or as the english say; there are no free rides. I'm retired, so my fee is quite high for using my powers to kill you." he said simply in a jovial tone that irked the demon to no end.

The black haired demon fell silent for a moment trying to still his anger. How dare this man falsely advertise his swift death! "So what is this price?" he asked finally with a barely concealed drop of acid lacing his voice. He had never been one for self-control. The Mayans hadn't even stood a chance after they erroneously shot a single arrow at him as he passed through their city, he hadn't even left bodies.  
"The price? Hmm" the eccentric man paused a moment to tap his lower lip, pondering. "The price is.. A first class laugh. Yes, that's it; you must give me a first class laugh before I will kill you! How marvelous!"

the demon stuttered for a moment "A WHAT! Are you taking this seriously? I said I wanted to die, not be your jester. Pick some other form of payment!" he demanded stubbornly.

Smiling happily he chirped out a laugh in his low voice "No, no. The price is set, its all or nothing"  
"Well, you just laughed." the irate demon pointed out.

"A First Class laugh, First Class. That was nothing compared to my real laugh and I haven't had a good one in a long while. Possibly centuries!" he added happily. "Until then, you're my special pet kitty!"

It was futile to even bother correcting him on the fact that he was a raven and not some domestic feline. Though cats were incredibly cute-he had spent much time with cats whilst in Egypt a few hundred years ago- he was not one himself. He could never be that soft and contained. He was a raving raven to the core, one hell of a demon... But he no longer wanted this life; there was no meaning in being amongst these humans anymore. He had always known some elusive element was missing that he couldn't begin to place. His morose thoughts were interrupted by a pair of teeth nipping his lower lip.  
Unthinkingly he lashed out only to be pushed down to the ground with the long haired man straddling him. "What-?" lips crashed into his and slowly tried to meld them to the kiss. It was surprisingly good but the shock was too much for any reaction to come from him. After a moment the kiss broke chastely and the shinigami chuckled before plunging back into the demon's mouth. A tongue tried to snake into his mouth but he finally came to his senses and bit the wet appendage. Bad move. The shinigami began trailing his lips and bleeding wounded tongue down his neck to the collar of his black shabby button up that he'd been wearing for this past week since arriving in London. He didn't have much earthly wealth to speak of since he was a demon and such things as the queen's money were as the creeper said- trash. Skilled hands began unbuttoning the round black clasps at his neck and he began struggling. This was of course halted when the older man started grinding his hips into the black haired demon. It was something he hadn't really felt before, all the human women he had been with were completely passive and so unattractive that keeping an erection, much less feeling aroused, was a difficult task. But the way he was being dominated just sent shivers down his spine that had him bucking up into the attention eagerly even as he knew he would hate himself for it later.

"Oho~ what a lovely reaction!" the gray haired shinigami smiled triumphantly sitting up on the demon's obvious arousal to deliberately put pressure on it. The slim man moaned openly causing more delight for the seme above him who simply leaned down to whisper in his ear that was half hidden by long strands of straight black hair. "I didn't know demons were so easy.." he teased.

Instantly his mind cleared up in a loud roar of anger "I'm WHAT!" This was going to be the start of his real life on earth among the mundane humans, all that had happened before was a precursor to what was to come about this century. But it would begin with the most trying living conditions he'd ever stood for, perhaps worse than that of his residence with bocchan Ciel Phantomhive, and it would spark something in him that would change him forever, Something that would change him from this mysteriously suicidal demon into the perfect cool-headed butler; Sebastian Michaelis.


	3. Angel's gift

Madam red: ooh~! My first authors note! Ok, here's the new chapter *silent applause* ... great enthusiasm, guys.  
This chapter has to do with sebby's "dabbling" and undertaker's adoption of his title/name. İts also an origin of Grell's statement "so that's what they call you now" and yes, he is creepy even as an apprentice to will. Today our guest announcer is Claude, and he has something important to say.

Claude: ah, good morning, readers *devilish grin* you have not rid yourself of me yet though this is before my time. But! I am not up to anything today. I am to simply state that madam red does not own kuroshitsuji or its characters (except an upcoming OC, hint hint) and~~~

Madam red: hAhAhAHA stop foreshadowing the chapter after this! Hurry before he says anything else!

~nine months later~  
"you never told me about how you started the black plague, kitty. I am very interested in that information" the silver haired shinigami smiled.  
The demon sighed, fed up with his life now even more than he had been before this supposed 'benefactor' had undertaken the job to kill him then not gone through with it. He didn't even look like shinigami now that he had traded in his long coat for a lengthy black robe of sorts and a big black hat with a few yards of fabric tied around the mid section. He'd even pulled his hair back with a tie and let his bangs shade his eyes in lieu of the disregarded glasses. The idiot smiled his face breaking grin showing off his perfect teeth and continued on with his ramblings, there were a lot of those these past months with him. It made him envy humans further for their gift of slumber, because it's their break from the world around them. And he got no break from the shinigami that referred to himself as his 'owner'. "Come on~, you can tell me! I really want to know!" he leaned back on his pile of wood (he had taken to finding flawless strong planks of wood these days and stacking them up in a corner. They usually just ended up as furniture for him since he would simply stare at them even when the demon suggested doing something with them) and kicked out his legs over the edge like a small child.  
Once again, his life seemed to be one endless downward spiral... And this idiot was at the center of it.  
He snarled a little, rubbing his temples irately. "Why should I tell you? It doesn't matter." he argued for the hundredth time. This guy found something new to bug him with everyday. He didn't know what was worse, the sexual assaults or the ceaseless cheerful banter. Didn't he understand that he had to find a way to earn his freedom from earth? Hah, a 'first class laugh', how was he supposed to do that? The guy laughed, or chuckled, at just about anything he did. The demon wasn't one to cause mirthful laughter since he was mirthless himself.  
A slightly overgrown black nail was wagged in his direction as the smile widened. "It's a point of interest, kitty, and I make it my business to know these things! Why, id be a terrible shinigami if I couldn't at least do this!"  
It was getting to the point where he just really wanted the guy to shut up so much that he did something just to end the monotonous inquiries. "There is death in Asia, correct?" the shinigami nodded his head ecstatically. "Then I will do it again if you promise to stay silent the rest of the day. Agreed?" he tried to Compromise rubbing his forehead to get rid of his headache but rubbing didn't help much since his troubles were human form.  
Clapping his hands together under the sheaths of black fabric the shinigami stood up excitedly. "Yes, yes!" he exclaimed all but hopping up and down. The slim demon merely nodded to himself and before much time had passed, he was standing with a black rat the size of a small cat in his hand. It squeaked indignantly squinting its beady red eyes but hushed quickly when the demon's own flashed a brighter shade of blood. The long haired death god smiled hugely and made to run over and pet it when the demon moved it away and forestalled him with a restraining hand. "Don't touch it, just sit down and listen before I decide not to tell you" he threatened.  
"I already know what you would do if I did lay a hand on the poor thing." his sagacious remark hit the truth but the raven continued.  
"This rat will kill more than half of London. It will take but a few months and then you must never ask again." he went on pushing the obvious keenness the other man possessed out of his mind. Opening the door out on Pudding Street he laid a kiss on the small sordid head and let it run away down the crowded streets. He quickly glanced around at a dozen humans huddling about on the street trying to find a good place to spend their odious nights. It was disgusting looking at their dirty lives in this dirty rancid city. He turned around as he shut the door to find the older and slightly taller man hovering right behind him.  
"What?" the demon said a little ruffled at him being so close again. He was an intensely creepy man that was very touchy feely on more than just a few occasions. İt was natural to set yourself on the defense alone with him when you had no where to run.  
The shinigami smiled and wrapped an arm around his waist to bring their hips together tightly. "Well, ill have to wait a while to see the results, İts not going to show up immediately. I'll get bored standing around so we should do something to pass the time." the elder's wandering hand was shoved roughly away from the demon's chest. The raven should have learned by now that a more conservative outfit would be beneficial (he only wore a loose black button up and a pair of dusty black slacks) seeing as this was common occurrence living here on Pudding Street, but he refused to do any of that human dress up stuff. Why couldn't they dress simple like the Romans had? Or the Egyptians? No, These Londoners had to strut about the town like smelly peacocks during mating season. The pale face leaned in close to his ear so that his vision of it was blocked by a curtain of silver. "Ever wondered what it felt like to be alive?"  
The question caught him completely off guard. What was that supposed to imply? That he was dead now? Or- his meaning was revealed when he pushed the demon up against the wall and locked lips with him. His open hand that wasn't pinned between them was held in a vise like grip above his head. He couldn't lie, the guy knew how to kiss, but it wasn't something he could handle. He wanted to die, not get in some homoerotic relationship with shinigami. That's why he attempted to struggle futilely under the iron grasp. Hips started grinding harshly against his and he couldn't help but moan just a little into the deep kiss as the other man added his tongue into the mix. He didn't snap at it this time but he did try to stay as emotionless as possible under the intense ministrations.  
A cold hand slipped between them and slashed through the clasps baring his chest to the shinigami. His mouth moved down to assault the demon's pert nipples causing a little gasp to slip past his parted lips as the hand moved on down-ghosting over his growing bulge- and started rubbing the inside of his thigh. His control frayed as the pleasuring hand slowly worked higher again to the main point of his frustration. İt was hard to concentrate on anything because the silver haired man's palm was grinding into his arousal.  
"Do you like this, little demon kitty? Your moans certainly tell me so. You really sound so delicious it makes me want to eat you~" the shinigami whispered huskily into his ear. "Should I continue?" he fingered the button of his pants teasingly before hooking it inside  
the demon moaned as the dexterous hand slowly undid the button taking his revealed length in hand. The shinigami remarked on its size before giving it a nice swift expert tug, the demon threw back his head and moaned wantonly. Another tug and the raven was shaking, his hair in disarray and a light sheen of sweat over his pale skin glinting in the dim light. The sensations were driving him to the point of claiming the shinigami's lips in passionate confusion letting his sharp teeth sink into the soft immortal flesh.  
The older man gasped a little but returned the kiss eagerly whilst speeding up his ministrations. The frustration was bad for both of them, the demon mused bucking up into the hand. He could feel the reaper's heavy breath all the way down his throat. İt was so bad that he didn't even know what he was doing. A little gasp was heard behind them, a kind of girly sound.  
"Ahem," a familiar voice came from inside the little house "sir, İ-uh... There was some... Uh..."  
The hatted man turned around-still manhandling the demon- and smiled. "Oh, William, great to see you. You have terrible timing, you know" the man chuckled. "And who's this wide eyed rose?"  
A flaming red haired teen stuck his head out around will to get a full view of the disheveled demon who quickly swatted the shinigami's hand away to rebutton his pants. The kid was gangly and very sharp featured with what looked like badly applied fake lashes fringing his bright red eyes. İf he wasn't mistaken, he also seemed to have a light colour of lipstick on too. He was even wearing a tight shirt that showed the faint outline of-a bodice? What kind of kid was this? He bordered on the Greek homosexual milieu. He was that feminine. "this is Grell, he's my new student..." a scowl pulled at will's features as he pushed the amazed kid back behind him to block from view the scene they had walked in on.  
The eldest of the gathered smiled widely. "He seems to be making you very uncomfortable or perhaps its us... Which do you think, kitty?" he ran a finger down his pale bare chest and will blushed as the demon growled indignantly. How dare he touch him in front of people!  
"I would think its both. İts not everyday you see a demon getting raped, and that kid looks like a girl" he growled low in his throat.  
A flash of red connected with his chest knocking the air out of him temporarily. "I'll have your babies then, kitty-Chan!" the falsetto voice rang out in a happy squeak. He looked down to see Grell with his long thin legs wrapped around his waist and his face buried in his exposed well muscled chest. İt was horrible because he was pressing into his still extremely aroused member and squeezing it by tensing up his thighs. The middle shinigami made a disgusted sound while the other merely laughed at Grell's spontaneous attack.  
"Get. The. Hell. OFF ME!" the demon roared throwing the younger red thing from his person and swiftly delivered a terse kick to his ribs that had him coughing.  
Unaffectedly William unceremoniously kicked him as well so that he rolled back behind him. The silver man smiled again and beckoned for him to continue with the reason for his visit. "Oh yes, we have reason to believe that a great plague is rooting in London right now. A number of life spans have drastically shortened to within the next two years in this district and may be travelling further. The council was wondering whether you two had any clue as to the cause behind this sudden change." he queried adjusting his glasses so that they glinted sharply in the dull light.  
"Oh my, I guess I was wrong, kitty." he mused quietly as his earlier claim was proved false. What had it been, ten minutes? They sure moved fast after the black plague was over. İt must have served as great training for the younger generation of shinigami. Ah, the good old days, he thought. "Interesting," he said a bit louder waving his covered arms about before him "in any case, I do not believe the council would have a place to question this supposed outbreak you are suggesting. Humans have filthy disease riddled streets, William. You know this." he moved forward to place his hands on the younger short haired man's shoulders and smiled impossibly large. "But I do not appreciate my retirement being disturbed by mere theories, though it is delightful to see you and your student here. But, quite frankly, you show up far too much already. Only bother me for legitimate reasons next time, hm?"  
William blinked at the sugar coated acerbic words and flushed around the neck a little in embarrassment. His idol was turning him away so easily for a pet demon that wasn't even a cat like he was called. "İ-im sorry, sir. They sent me because they assumed I wouldn't be a burden to you. İ apologize for this inconvenience, sir." he stepped back onto Grell's twitching hand, whom was already crying so hard he didn't notice, and bowed deeply to his former master before roughly grabbing Grell and taking his leave.  
İt was silent a moment before the silver haired man spoke again, staring off in the direction will had disappeared to. "They're getting pretty fast. İ apologize for wrongly using you as entertainment when it wasn't necessary. İ'll make sure to utilize you correctly next time." if he hadn't been totally frustratingly aroused he would've hit the idiot for referring to him as a toy. But right now it was just far too annoying to ignore. The demon let out a grunt as he sunk to the ground and the shinigami smirked. "Are we in need of service?" he asked amused.  
He growled ferally deep in his throat. "So asks the man who caused this problem." the lower exposed part of his face smirked at the demon's displeasure. "You're such a... T-tease!"  
The thin man stuttered on his words when the older man knelt down beside him and undid his pants again. This round he wasted no time, running his finger over the tip before giving it a chaste kiss. A gasp bubbled up from the demon's lips when his length was suddenly deep throated by the shinigami so tight and hot he couldn't think anymore. As the elder bobbed his head while running his tongue up his shaft he slowly threaded his fingers through the man's hair that was nestled in between his legs. His hold tightened and he flung the black whirlwind of cloth across the room. "Be gone from me!" the demon hissed indignantly.  
The silver haired man shrugged his shoulders in an act of mock innocence. "Were you not just complaining that I was a tease? İ thought you wanted me to stop dancing around and fix things" he laughed softly with a large amused grin.  
"Just GO!" the demon roared pulling up crouched on the balls of his feet as if poised to attack.  
The shinigami chuckled and turned to the shadows. "Fine, fine but ill be back in a little bit, kitty" with a final laugh he was gone from the room.  
He sighed and sunk back down to the ground. This was he wanted to die so much. People always took advantage of him, Humans and shinigami alike. İt wasn't like he was hopeless and weak either, he just somehow bended to their will without thinking. He planted his palm on his creased forehead. İts been too long since I last ate, he thought.  
"I'll just go have a bite." the demon whispered to himself in the small empty house. Yes, that would help. Within moments of the decision he found himself stalking the streets on the other side of town. All he had to do was find someone that looked right and he would be set. One that looked tasty.  
His search was fruitless. All there was to be found were a few old women on walks and many young men busy hauling their lives about in erratic beelines, but these men all looked hollow anyways. Eventually the demon gave up and called a group of men over by waving his arms above his head and shouting as if there was something in dire need of attention. Three young lads dropped whatever they were doing and followed him onto a back street without a second thought when he motioned for them to follow. Soon they were in a covered alley that dead ended and looking around with bewildered faces, the man they were following had disappeared! Soft footsteps behind them alerted the men to their search's presence as he closed in on them: blocking their only escape route. "Dear brothers" he started seriously, the small smirk playing on his lips belying the tone. "I need something, im glad you could come and volunteer yourselves to help me. You will be of great service, I assure you. But im inclined to apologize for the inconvenience I am about to cause you." the humans stood stagnant, frozen in terror of that hungry smile.  
A bystander would have seen, as indeed the long silver haired one did, a great gust of black feathers blown up around the scene with what resembled a dark grinning figure at the heart of the storm. A single terse shout rang out before it became silent once more with the sounds of city life in London going on undisturbed. The black smiling figure stood amidst the few settling feathers and wiped its white mouth with the back of its shadowed hand. İt turned to look at the rooftop where it had seen something, like a glimpse of a glimmer of silver and black. The demon looked back down at the empty shells laid out at his feet and huffed; he had to leave before they woke up in their soulless bodies and made a ruckus. He didn't want to have to deal with that today on top of everything else that annoying death reaper put him through. Trying to rape him... The demon's form shivered a moment between a snarl and his human face before finally settling on the angular well sculpted pale countenance. That idiot.  
He absconded from the scene and made his way back to Pudding Street by use of the back alley routes, for some reason preferring to walk as humans do. No one glanced at him twice, taking his worn clothes thrown about on his frame as a sign of just another plebian soul scraping out a hard life in this unforgiving world. Which was true in a sense, he supposed. He was just getting along however he could. A small pettily clad child coughed running across the dirty street in front of him and a small smirk played on his lips, He really could do a lot. He guessed this was going to be as good-if not funnier than- the black plague of old. Good times.  
He opened the door to the wooden little white house and blinked twice. The shinigami had candles lit around the one room dwelling and was doing something with his hoard of wooden planks. "What are you doing, do you think?" he asked closing the door behind him stepping into the light the candles cast off.  
Smiling, the shinigami looked up, putting aside his rough board, and gestured to the 'masterpiece' before him. "My new human profession, kitty" he said simply.  
The demon stepped closer and observed that it was a large rectangular box. İts edges were smooth and it looked as if an angel had made it perfect in its plain simplicity. İt, in fact, looked like the coffin people bury their dead in. "are you saying..?"  
He smiled again, twirled a little to make his head fan out a little in an attempt to appear more dramatic and nodded. "Im decorating and engraving it tomorrow and by week's end I will have three such coffins fashioned for the pleasure of our guests so that I may start up my business to catch this new drift before it comes. So from now on I want you to refer to me as The Undertaker" his voice was as pleased as his tone. "Or my master, undertaker. Whichever you prefer" he winked "I should make a new term for what im doing! Perhaps mandering, those Chinese are very smart... no! Indie! Those people are always ahead of everything and they are masters of luxury trade as I am~! That's a great-"

A\N:

Madam red: well, that was a funny chapter to write hAhAhAHA there are just a few things to put here.

Words: 3414  
Poor William... We pity you :( buuut! ;) It's great almost smex scene! Yeah, that DİD just happen.  
Chapter three will be started soon, like, next Monday or so. This weekend is my happy time.  
ALSO İ AM İN NEED OF A BETA READER FOR DA AND SO PLEEAAASE TELL ME SPECİFİCALLY WHATS WRONG WİTH THİS HERE SO İTS NOT WRONG THERE!


	4. a Vacation

Our Precious Immortal Days3

The demon flipped through the pages of the book opened to him on the grand library table that seemed to stretch on for eternity. The yellowed parchment crackled softly under his careful use as his eyes scoured the script for the answers he sought. An undying flame flickered briefly, but did not go out, when he let a deep sigh fall from his lips that stirred his black fringes. Nothing. He closed the book silently and picked up the bookmark to return it to the rightful spot on the endless shelves of infinite volumes of history and knowledge stored up since the universe began.  
Yes, he was in the forbidden Shinigami Library browsing the known history of demons.  
Surprisingly, there was very little information available on his race. Obviously hostility was well pronounced between the two, shinigami and demons, because of long years of debate over their place in this world. The shinigami believed that demons belonged out of sight and had no right to dwell upon the earth and consume the souls of the humans whilst the demons maintained that they could roam the planes of existence simply because they could. One tidbit of information that he had found detailed the superficial end of the argument as the 'noble and dutiful' shinigami donning glasses to distinguish between the two races as a result of early religions getting them confused because of their similar activities involving human souls. The raven snorted inwardly, it hadn't been a noticed change since the humans had yet to glimpse either and live on in sanity.  
He brought forth another book and laid it out before him, The Complete Detailment of a Vile Occasion. One would have to be stupid not to be even faintly offended by this title, he thought, but it was surely a vile encounter for both sides. The first page revealed an inked portrait of a red herring in flight across the moon, a strange depiction for a book like this. He turned each page easily and quickly as he scanned, memorized, and stored all the new information. It wasn't long before he reached the final chapter and paused for a moment. This was it. The volume he had was written by a management class officer about the shinigami's run in with a violent rogue crimson eyed herring demon that had been taking out nomadic tribes across the Eurasian half of the known world. The ordeal had gotten out of control and the dispatch squad had been sent out to deal with the menace. The demon caused grievous losses on the opposing side during their encounter but it had been wounded badly in the process. Why wasn't he reading on? The next chapter was The Death Unknown; this could be what he was searching for!  
His eyes hungrily scanned the following pages and widened slightly. Finally he could cut out the middle man between him and home. The undertaker had withheld information from him for two years and now he didn't need the abusive idiot anymore to get what he wanted, what he craved; his own death, the ride back to where he had come from. It was his escape-  
"mister? What are you doing?" came a little voice from behind the demon. He whirled around and grabbed the source before it had time to blink. "Wha-?"  
The demon blinked twice, it was a little boy with wild yellow-blonde hair and bright huge emerald eyes that were gazing curiously up at him completely oblivious to the strong hold the demon had on his neck. The kid couldn't have been much older than aiko's age by human comparison, he looked about ten. He released the little kid and instead placed his hand firmly on his shoulder. "What are you doing here? This is a restricted place" he chastised quickly putting up a calm authoritative facade.  
The boy titled his head a little and didn't change his expression as he spoke. "Why are you here? You're not wearing glasses, you are not even shinigami, and you do not belong." the child stated adamantly.  
Damn, he knows, the demon cursed gripping down hard. The blonde winced a little knowing his still thin shoulder was going to be severely bruised down to the bone by tomorrow. Good, the demon mused, he could even use the broken neck i might give him if he doesn't silence his tongue. "Little boy, what is your name? İt is disrespectful to speak to your elders this way. İ am simply taking a break from my glasses" the raven inwardly faltered a moment before letting a fake smile get plastered on his face. He had to lie quick and who better to emulate than the king of lies himself, the undertaker.  
The boy looked up at him defiantly, his tousled blonde hair falling over his eyes. "Eric-" he introduced himself before letting out a huge roar that couldn't have come from someone his size. The demon shoved him out of the way as inquiring voices were roused and he knew it was time to go. İf he could only get out of here he could end this suffering quickly.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"little kitty, can you hand me that?" the silver haired idiot asked without bothering to turn around from his work, much less point out what he wanted the demon to get for him. The dark haired raven scowled and stayed put on his perch upon the dwindling pile of wood in the corner. That annoying shinigami assumed he would jump to his whims like a mangy dog looking for a treat. The undertaker's hobbies were not his concern. İt mattered not to him what he did. He still hadn't given the raven the secret sweet kiss of death. The retired man turned to smile at him. "The bowl of sand, my dear, please give it to me." he said more specifically this time.  
Begrudgingly the dark haired demon pushed off his seat and picked up the bowl of sand the other man had asked for. He held it in one hand surveying the bowl a moment. Taking a few steps he tilted his wrist back and launched the simple pottery across the room at the silver head.  
Of course, without looking, the shinigami ducked fluidly and the bowl smashed against the wall above the rough coffin. İncedentally, most of the sand fell into the open belly while the pottery pieces were quickly sliced out of the descending mix and flung back at him. İt didnt even faze the demon as he side stepped angrily, irritated that his little rebellion wasnt noticed in the least.  
Undertaker kept on with his work as if the creation of the coffin consumed him entirely. As if there was no room left for anything else. As if the demon wasnt good enough for his time- wait, he stopped his angry thoughts before they could progress into something else. Why was he thinking like that?  
It had been a fairly quiet stretch of time since he began his hobby. Each day the dark haired demon would be ignored except for the occasional request as just the one that only just occurred moments ago. Each day he would go out to feed on some poor unfortunate soul he happened to come across in the streets. He would lure his victim back to the alleys and usually surprise them in order to see their final panicked expression as he descended upon them in his true form. That part was always delightful. After that, after the meal was the problem. It seemed London was full of poor quality souls. Never before had this bothered him, partaking in a myriad of qualities was a luxury he had not had the pleasure of having many times in his past. Sitting in this stable of a shop all day and night made him want to get out and desperately feed to ward off boredom. These low life souls did nothing for him. He would still be craving more immediately after devouring a soul, something not common. Many vulgar souls day in and day out like this was killing him. Sadly, it was not physically either.  
He let out a frustrated sigh and turned to quickly alight upon the stack of wood again. Why? He needed something to distract his thoughts. There was nothing to do today since he had already gone out and he found no reason to bother trying to satiate his body despite his lingering hunger. Scanning the room he found it exceedingly fitting that the shinigami had become an undertaker. A god of death would be most comfortable in the world of the dead and dying. Obsessions befit a man such as him. Someone that would work ten and six hours a day, seven days a week, to meticulously create beds for humans to lay their deceased in. He had already made many coffins but only three, or rather two and a half, for the third was very small, were here after his first sale. Admittedly, they looked very nice. Made you wonder why the living humans did not get one of their own. He had finished that child size coffin while the demon was out feeding earlier today so he didn't know what the inside looked like. But for some reason he felt something was off. What it was, he couldn't quite place. There was something different in the air was all.  
His eyes flicked over to the busy long silver haired man wondering about what it might be. Undertaker was busily working with nothing amiss seeming to come from him. Not him, then. Maybe it was himself... The way he was actually put off by the shinigami's lack of attention. No, it wasn't that, it was something physical. That and he wasn't going back into that and admitting it any more than he already had, even if it had only been in his head. The other man hadn't made any moves towards him since the last fight they had gotten into a while back. He wished to keep it that way. It was in no manner pleasing to him to have that idiot lay hands on his person.  
His eyes were drawn back to the coffins as if by a great force, he couldn't get them off his mind. He studied them carefully for the first time. Each was adorned with painstakingly intricate fine details, each corner and surface sanded down devotedly to an almost soft seamless edge. He had to admit, they were beautiful. But it was the coffins that were off. A sudden inner silence fell.  
Breathing. Shallow breathing... The dead and damned didn't breathe.  
There was a living person in one of the coffins.  
The sound of sanding stopped and a small chuckle filled the air. "I am surprised it took you this long to notice, kitty. İ thought demons were supposed to be bright" a high trill of laughter escaped the undertaker's lips replacing the sedated chuckle as he spun around with this wide excited smile across his face. İt was so big and goofy it should have split his face in half if it hadn't been so incredibly creepy. "I guess you are distracted with other things though, hm? Well, want to meet her?" he pranced over nearly tripping over his own robe and stopped before the small child's coffin.  
"Her? You have a little girl in there?" he asked trying to mask his utter disbelief. What was this? The little coffin's lid was engraved with a pretty round face completely fringed by great locks of wavy hair. How had he not guessed?  
The undertaker tapped his long finger nails against the ornate top and giggled. "Time to wake up, aiko." the mischievous grin was directed toward the on looking demon. "There is someone very important for you to meet. Daddy needs you to get up now" he cooed and the demon was only further interested by the shinigami referring to himself as 'daddy'. İt was not conceivable what was happening.  
The lid wobbled a little bit and the undertaker removed it carefully. The demon leaned in to see who it was. A thin delicate hand gripped the rim bringing forth a head of dark wavy lengths pulled half back with a crimson ribbon. The undertaker gently stroked the hidden face with the back of his fingers as not to touch her with his nails. Was he being careful with her? Smiling, he took her hand and pulled her up and out of the casket like a proper gentleman. She stepped daintily out with his help minding to not step on any stray crafting appliances. The short scrawny girl was wearing a long red simple child's dress with black trimmings about the puffed sleeves, a splash of colour in the dark room that only knew black, silver, and moon light. He was transfixed by the sight. "Aiko, this man is an angel sent for you." the undertaker said gesturing with a wave of his pale hand up to where the demon sat avidly awaiting the chance to see her face. The little girl slowly turned around to look where 'daddy' was intending and gasped when she saw the demon.  
He, likewise, was in awe of her. She looked nine at most, but her thick black lashes fringing dark chocolate eyes and well sculpted features made her seem like a small woman. Her lightly tanned and foreign skin glowed in the dim light. İt was surprising to say the least. "He is very important to you, aiko" the undertaker continued gleefully "you have to keep him content. İf he does anything but smile, many people will die around you. But if you make him happy, he will bless you with a good life." the little girl nodded too busy taking in the sight of the pale and feminine features of her angel. His shabby clothes and long dark fringes captivated her. She curtsied and smiled warmly at him. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Angel. Thank you for taking me under your wing." she said with a gratuous expression, as if he had just saved her life. Genuine gratitude from a human. She also seemed to have an outlandish accent to her words as if she had not lived in London long.  
A dark shadow fell over his face. "Undertaker, what is this?" he asked. İt had finally donned on him. The hatted man had brought a young Middle Eastern girl into their home, filled her with lies about the demon being her guardian angel, and he expected him not to question it? He had no idea what he had going on in that screw loose head of his.  
The shinigami tilted his silver head to the side and smiled hugely. "Why, you needed a new child to keep your wings, remember? And that if you were to be angry or displeased by anything the entire city would suffer a great death, causing you to wait even longer to get back to heaven. We wouldn't want that" he said jovially as if he was reminding the demon of something he had forgotten. "You already hurt the city during the vacancy of her position. Go on, have him accept you" he prodded the child onwards.  
The little girl came forward until she was right between his dangling feet and opened her hands in an imploring gesture. "Please, angel, he told me that the sickness came from you because you were unhappy. I know you cannot stop it like this so please let me help you" her wide chocolate eyes shone prettily with the utter desperation she seemed to be in. She was so pretty and hapless looking. "I promise to be good and make you really happy. I work hard and i won't let you down even if it's hard. Please?" she pleaded. She just looked so honest.  
The demon slid off of once more, landed right in front of her, and looked her in the eye. She was a pawn of the undertaker. Glancing up to the man he knew he was playing a game, and making his task harder. He wanted him to have to deal with this little girl for some sick reason so he had kidnapped her off the streets and lied to her. I'm not an angel in any regard, he thought, but he said it without saying it, he'll take longer to kill me if i don't deal with her. He did not want to babysit a deluded kid. Then again, did he not say himself that he had nothing to do? It would be tedious and likely end up bad... Though she is nice looking and sweet. Finally deciding on going with it for his own sake, he let his eyes fall back to the pretty child. "Aiko, where are you from?"  
A smile crossed her features. "Nepal" she replied brightening up now that he seemed to relax. That was the accent then.  
"Are there girls named aiko in Nepal? Where is your family?" he asked.  
"No, my old name was saksi. Daddy said aiko was my new name so i could serve you, he said it meant a loved or blessed child." she paused for a moment because her smile was too much to contain. "And my family is well, they are working many jobs. So this is the least their girl-child can do." her smile really couldn't get any bigger, could it? Was she that eager to abandon her family on the word of the town undertaker? Almost glaring at him again, the demon held back thinking he had used some strange force to lure this girl. If undertaker could enchant her, then surely he could do it better, demon he be.  
A small smile, starting as a quirk of the lip then on to a polite grin, spread across his features. It almost hurt actually acting happy and smiling like a human. "Then, aiko, i would like to welcome you to my service. Thank you. You shall do great things for London" he said sweetly holding out his hands to take hers gently and kiss them. Just like in the ancient halls of chivalry since it became a kind practice. Her light brown cheeks blushed deeply. Yes, she was rather cute. She made such adorable faces, it made him want her. Not like undertaker expressed want, no. The demon wanted her soul, the things she held dear, everything. This mortal that blushed so openly in the hands of the damned and damnors. Such innocence thrown like a sweet treat to the evil rabid hounds of hell. Oh, she looked delicious, utterly desirable, and cravable. Acting capriciously, he bent down and laid a kiss on the corner of her little lips. "This angel is very grateful to you."  
He couldn't help but notice the undertaker's stupid smile stretching out seeming to reach the bangs that concealed his eyes.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"angel, are you finished?" aiko asked the demon quietly. She was always a little nervous not being next to him out on the streets.  
The tall handsome dark haired man walked out of the alley with his now customary smile. His little girl was always like that when he wouldn't let her follow because he was feeding. She didn't need to see him in his true form, no mortal did. It was something very intimate and frightening and, for some strange reason, he didn't want to scare her away. Twelve months living with her had gotten him accustomed to her little charms and human ways. She had taught him how to make many different types of teas, largely çay from the area around Nepal and India, although a few were more local brews she had begun to learn around town.  
Life was looking strangely bright. The undertaker left him alone a lot to be with aiko even though he and the child were quite close as well. The hatted reaper was always fluffing her child size coffin to be more comfortable. He had even bought her a small stove and an eastern double teapot set for her interesting culinary skill. She was beginning to like sweets and wanted to test those out too pretty soon. The demon had agreed to help her, of course. "Yes, little aiko, i have finished." he smiled almost genuinely if not for the inhuman saturation that consumed him as he assimilated the soul into his body. "Are you ready to leave?" the demon asked her with a tone of adoring tolerance parents have for small impatient cute children. She nodded and let his smile inspire her own more real one.  
He took her arm and led her away from the back alley so that they could get away from his last meal and walk the main boulevard. Secretly, he was showing her off. Even though he now wore a non-tattered version of his normal button up and slacks ensemble, both he and undertaker bought/stole her respectable red dresses that were in fashion. It was always red. No other colour would do for her beauty. She had turned twelve last month and both men were waiting for her to blossom into a true woman soon. Then they would get her grander things. It had never been a conscious thing for them. She was everything they had been reconciled to and an idol of what that could be. Aiko was their project. Their foil. As the world outside died of plague they were untouched showering gifts on her.  
"Angel?" she smiled softer with a certain glow to her beautifully paling skin that seemed ivory now. Beautiful child.  
"Yes, aiko?" he questioned guiding her through the streets noting how out of hand the plague had gotten. It pleased him to no end, he thought minding not to smirk around her.  
She kept her head looking down at the cobblestone road. They were nearly back to Pudding Street. "Life is... Kind with daddy and my angel... I do not understand how you could have caused all this" she gestured to the almost empty street where the only inhabitants hacked and wheezed. "But yet i think you are happy..." she trailed off.  
"Aiko," he started. A smart girl, but she questions her fortune because of the pain of others. "Are you trying to ask why it has not ended with my sorrow?" the dark haired raven asked slowly.  
The little Nepali girl looked up, the confirmation of his question foremost in her eyes. What could he say that would be feasible? For some reason, some inexplicable reason, he wanted to console her and tell her it would end. But he knew that was a lie... And he couldn't lie to her as easily as he might have wanted. Choosing to ignore her question he resumed their walk back to the house. If he had to explain himself he could possibly say...  
Possibly say that he had formed an attachment to her.  
Opening the door to their pudding street dwelling, he nearly frowned stepping inside with the undertaker nowhere in sight. Don't get him wrong, it was somewhat pleasant not to have him around but it was entirely unsettling. Where would that shinigami have to go? This was the first time since their big fight before aiko came that he was not here while the demon was. It was too strange for him to change that.  
Aiko daintily went to sit on her relatively new coffin (she was to get a new one each year to match her growth) and remained silent. Her face was calm and serene; nothing was cause to worry. Surely even though she was a human she would notice, the demon thought.  
Not much longer and a familiar chuckle filled the room as the undertaker stepped out of the shadows as he was shoving something into his pocket as quick as he could. "Oh my, am i late?" he chuckled with a probably supposed to be surprised look, the effect was lost since all that was visible was his huge smile.  
"And where have you been?" the demon asked coolly since the girl was in sight. His only reply was a tilt of the head and a wag of a long thin finger.  
Undertaker simply turned back to his work and went about his day as usual and they went about theirs, as if nothing had been amiss. "today we're going to learn about angel food cake, angel, is that not cute?" aiko smiled sweetly.  
"Yes, incredibly so. I'm sure it will be perfect with you as the head chef" he smiled complimenting her easily. "An angel couldn't make it any better, trust me" and she trusted him blindly smiling away. Just like every day.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"aiko, child, lets visit the market today. We need to work on our tea blends" the demon called out stepping over his latest meal. İn a few minutes he would wake up soulless and it was never something he appreciated seeing. But it was good that he could get out with aiko afterwards. İt always seemed to lift his sated mood. A perfect combo. He came to the end of the back street and almost smiled assured that she was always there awaiting his return.  
But Aiko wasn't the one waiting for him at the end of the alley. "Aiko went to the market already. İ told her you might be awhile so she should go on" the undertaker smiled hugely at him walking up to take his arm in his, the cloth clinging to his hat dancing behind him from the movement. "And that daddy wanted to walk the angel home today." he said pulling him out to the streets.  
The demon let himself frown at the black robed shinigami. He didn't like that the man was leading him out to the main streets the way he usually walked with aiko. İt didn't feel right and he didn't want to walk in front of humans without her now. Apparently the undertaker took humoured offence when the dark haired man redirected them to the lesser populated route back to Pudding Street. "Oh, why don't you take us the same way as when you are with aiko? Don't want to be seen with me?" he chuckled.  
"I prefer to be seen with a lovely young lady, not a garish undertaker" the demon informed him icily. Had he been following them every day or something of that manner? How had he not noticed?  
The silver haired undertaker smiled and pulled him into a shadow so that they stepped into the house in a matter of seconds. "But it's only aiko, so I'm hurt" he sobbed sarcastically before giggling.  
This man got on his last nerve; he was too happy all of the time. "So why did you want to escort me back?" he asked brusquely.  
The shinigami smiled and gestured him over to an open coffin. "Well, kitty, i thought that we have not spent much time together. So i wanted to ask you about my newest coffin!" he said keeping up his smile and pointing into the fluffed innards of the casket. "Look and tell me what you think!"  
The demon narrowed his eyes but complied looking it over. "I do not see much of a difference, undertaker." he said. The undertaker prodded him to look again by pushing him closer telling him to feel the interior. Suspicious and confused, he complied once more and found the cloth to be a soft silk with downy stuffing. İt was a bed fit for a king. "What is this for?" he asked quietly.  
"Not 'what' but 'who', my dear" the man giggled.  
"Then who" he corrected "is this for?"  
His answer was a swift attack and suddenly his back was sinking into the soft bedding and undertaker was on top of him, his black robe pooling around them. "Us" he smiled and leaned down to kiss the demon underneath him.  
Oh, he thought, so this is how he plans on spending time with me? İmmeasurable strength tried to push the elder off him to no avail. İt must have taken inconceivable power to hold off an angry and flustered demon, but the undertaker was going on with his task unfazed. Like he was restraining a mere child.  
The silver haired man shushed him and ran his fingers down the demon's pale soft skin. "Shh, I've missed you, kitty. Don't squirm too much" he cooed sweetly. A hand had snaked down- tearing open his shirt along the way- and started to grind into his groin harshly but with a practiced edge. The demon gasped at the welling sensation coming up from inside him to spread over his skin as if it were thin fire dancing across his immortal flesh. İt made a ball rise up in his throat. He couldn't stand it. İt wasn't right... Right?  
Deciding of his body's volition to stop thinking when the shinigami started sucking on his bared neck, he arched a little to meet him. How he hated this feeling! Moments later and he was aware his pants were around his ankles and he was being pumped expertly. Lips were trailing down to his chest finding a pert nipple to suckle on as the other was stimulated by nimble fingers. He couldn't help but whine wantonly. How he hated this damned feeling! Something was nagging at him but his mind was too fuzzy to register it. Until it pounded into him. Literally.  
İn one swift motion, the undertaker had entered him after serrupticiously preparing him for a second. İt shouldn't hurt a demon too much, he probably thought, if indeed he thought about anything. The demon reached up to claw at the undertaker's neck but was instead cought in an overwhelming kiss. For a moment he struggled until he moved his hips just so and his perfect vision blurred in a wave of pleasure. Another thrust and he was sucking on the shinigami's tongue and running his nails down the man's back. İt unnerved him feeling fabric instead of the other man's body. The robe was quickly discarded as their kiss deepened further, both immortals moving in sync with each other, the undertaker merely the initial force in the hot passion filling them.  
Every thrust of the shinigami's hips brought a new slam of feeling, hitting that mark each and every time. The demon had never known that kind of intense sensation. Pain was fleeting and meaningless to him, women were cards, and fire was useless. Only this seemed to really get him to the core.  
The pale lips left his and started travelling down to bite into his neck as their movements quickened. The bite drew cursed inhuman blood that he lapped up greedily with his hot tongue. Everything was too much. The demon was pushing up to meet his assailant's engorged organ with a brute force that would have killed any mortal but simply pleased the undertaker.  
A few minutes later a resounding crack went through their madly flailing bodies and they both orgasmic as the coffin broke apart from the exertion. The shinigami kept on thrusting, riding out the orgasm for all it was worth, letting his demon milk the last few drops out. When it was all over the demon looked up at the disheveled silver hair through his tousled bangs and froze a moment. Those eyes. For the first time he could see those beautiful pools. With the undertaker leaning forward over him just enough to where he could glimpse those bright orbs. They were defined, gorgeous, with thick dark lashes. Then the colour! From what he could glimpse they were a pure silver glint of moonlight. Completely... Beautiful.  
The undertaker noticed his exposure and quickly resumed an upright position whilst throwing a smile on his face. "Woops! İ guess i slipped up a little and broke the bed! Oh my, my, my, i thought i reinforced it to perfection." he lamented light heartedly "i suppose two men such as we are too much, don't you think? İ'll have to clean that up later before aiko gets home" the man giggled and quickly got up and left, it was almost as if he was embarrassed that the demon had seen his eyes.  
Shaking away his thoughts the dark haired demon's eyes fell upon a small object fluttering to the ground in the direction undertaker had taken off to the shadows. Curiously he climbed to his feet and made his way over to pick it up. A bookmark? Memories of the undertaker stuffing something like this into his pocket flashed through his thoughts. İt must be something important. A little tidbit he didn't want the demon to discover. A smirk crossed the raven's lips. He had left it behind in his half proper haste. What a pity. The demon turned to redress and tuck the item away where it would be out of sight. He would get even for this... This Uncalled for encounter.  
"Angel? Are you home yet?" the little girl called out before entering the dark room. Her wide chocolate eyes looked around worriedly before her angel stepped out of the shadows to greet her with a smile. No need to worry her, he thought. "Ah! Angel, i bought all of the new teas we wanted and some tapers as well. İ even picked up some treats for daddy shaped like bones, don't you think that's funny giving them to him?" she beamed stepping in further to lay out all of her finds on a coffin lid. "Where is daddy?" she asked noting his absence innocently.  
The demon smiled warmly "he stepped out for a bit but I'm sure he will enjoy the treats you so kindly procured for him. Are you ready to try a new mixture, aiko?" he asked kneeling besides her bringing their tea leaves containers with him. She smiled happily nodding her pretty little head yes.  
Aiko quickly tied her hair back with a red silk ribbon and readied their selections to be chosen prudently and specially for their week's tea supply and lit a few tapers to see by. The demon let his eyes wander over her lively youthful body starting at her face. Her soft ivory skin and big childlike chocolate eyes were the first things you noticed, then her pink little lips that had yet to fill out yet. İt was young yet very hard and defined which had given him his first impression of her being older yet younger than her true age. Traveling down as he talked over the proper proportions with aiko he noticed her thin long neck and small proud shoulders. The demon had dressed her in a red lengthy dress and poufy shouldered knee length coat. İt was gorgeous on her. Those little bumps where her breasts were beginning to form, her slender shape, her fragile arms and tiny fingers carefully separating the perfect amounts under his care. Her happy disposition, her smiles, her all-encompassing love. She was perfect, he mused, hardly human by human standards, but so mortal by theirs.  
By the time the first pot was finished steeping the undertaker had returned with a more familiar calm smile to have a cup before cleaning up his 'minor demeanor' that occurred because of a nasty flaw in the wood that cracked when he sat on it. Aiko fawned over him like a daughter would check her father for injuries, of course. She was kind and believed any lie. Her whole pretty life was one at the moment.  
"Daddy! İ have a special surprise for you!" she giggled squinting her eyes with an adorable look.  
The undertaker opened his mouth in a dramatic surprised gasp waving his pale hand around by his head. "Oh! You shouldn't have! My dear aiko, so thoughtful and caring!" he sang out setting down his tea cup gingerly.  
She giggled again light and gay before pulling a jar out of her market basket to hand him. "I hope you like them, daddy, i got them just for you." aiko blushed excitedly.  
İnterested and wanting to please the little girl, the silver haired man opened the washed out jar and pulled out a hand sized bone shaped biscuit. Glancing at aiko's eager face he placed it to his lips and bit in. Suddenly his face totally changed. "Ahhh~!" he gasped pleasantly. His face seemed euphoric as he gobbled up the rest of the treat and took out two more causing aiko to squeal in delight. Apparently they were pretty good. "Oh, ki-angel, you must try these!" the man exclaimed almost slipping up in front of aiko. They must be some bakery, the demon thought.  
"No thank you, they are for you, undertaker. İ would not want to impede on aiko's generous gift to you." he declined politely. For a moment the undertaker pouted then grinned mischievously.  
"Oh, but you must!" he grinned.  
"No, thank you"  
"i insist, I'm sure aiko would be honoured." the little girl nodded smiling.  
Getting a bit annoyed he smiled again "no, I'm really not that hungry at the moment. Aiko would know-" his sentence was cut off by a large black bulk plopping into his lap and sticking the bone biscuit into his mouth without warning. Abstaining from letting his irritation show, he ate the forced treat and did not throw the undertaker through a wall. İt was almost lost even with the weight of little aiko's presence when the undertaker leaned in eerily close asking if he liked it with a creepy smile. "Of course, it was delicious simply because it was from aiko." he stated almost icily annoyed.  
The retired shinigami smiled knowingly and leaned into his ear to whisper "hmm she does a better job of taming you than i do." then louder as he got up to twirl around and kiss aiko on the forehead. "What a wondrous gift, my darling! Even the angel adores it! Oh how i couldn't ask for a better little girl in my old age! İts so perfect!" he laughed picking her up in his arms and spinning around merrily. Her increasingly worried face replaced with a delighted childlike one as she flew through the air in her 'daddy's' arms. İn the weak candle light they looked like a grim little family. The father and daughter laughing and dancing together while their guardian angel smiled over them.  
The demon paused a moment in his thoughts. How did it get like this? Two years ago he was ransacking towns and devouring the souls of entire nomadic communities. But now he was playing house with a retired shinigami of some prestige and a little Nepali human-girl. What was happening to him...? İt was them. Undertaker had taken advantage of his desire for death to domesticate him, but then he was still a formidable animal on a thin leash. He still growled and snarled and fought ferociously under his oppression. Then aiko had come along. That sweet human that looked up to him as if he was pure and holy, as if he was something good. He hated sweets and foods, he had no need for them nor did they taste pleasant like they did to humans. Yet he learned to bake treats and brew teas better than a professional, because he wanted to share something with her to make her happy. He had never smiled without malice or ill intent before she was around. Why is it that i am so susceptible to her will?, he asked himself frustrated. Why, why? He should break free of this and stop acting like a domestic animal, a house cat! He was a free raven. He should-  
"angel, daddy says we should make a cake to celebrate!" aiko smiled running up to him from the undertaker's arms. With a quick tug of the sleeve the demon submitted to her once again thoughtlessly and followed her to the little stove.  
He smiled at her and gently embraced her before starting up the stove fire. "How about a two layer cake, aiko? With frosting and everything." he asked happily. Why couldn't he just refuse the collar? He could only say he had grown an attachment for her. As strange and unheard of as that was, he could not accept it.  
Later that night when aiko was curled up in her coffin while the demon looked over her the undertaker got up to pace the room, thinking the demon was too busy to notice. He was trying to keep his head down as if thinking seriously but his purpose was belied by his furtive glances around the room. Honestly, he seemed not to be able to act seriously at all. His attempts just made him more suspicious. He checked behind the coffins and piles of timber, everywhere.  
"Looking for something?" the demon asked appearing behind the preoccupied undertaker causing him to minutely jump. "Maybe i can be of some assistance" he volunteered already knowing what he was searching for.  
The older man laughed uneasily waving his arms around in a flurry of robes. "Oh! Kitty, i was just thinking, what would happen if i put a bell inside of my coffins? People are commonly buried alive and shinigami have to step in to end their suffering. What if they could be saved by the bell so we wouldn't have to bother sending anyone out?" he blurted covering up his true intent. "Well, 'them' since I'm no longer one of them. İ was management class, you know. İ even judged robin hood!" he began to ramble off going back to his work.  
The demon smirked. The bookmark was certainly of importance to the shinigami, but what was it? İt couldn't be of much use on its own. So it could possibly be a key. To what, then? He was not getting any hints from the undertaker. He was adamant not to let on he so much as lost something.  
The importance was confirmed a week later when William dropped by on their way out for his feeding wanting to speak to the undertaker.  
The short haired man shifted uncomfortably but seemed to have better control than he had last time they encountered. Then again, no one was naked this time. "I thought i would ask you if he was available to avoid inconveniencing the sir." he said tightly choosing to not comment on the demon's young human companion he was walking about the streets with.  
The demon smiled at him. "Is there something that you wish to speak with him about? As his secretary i can always pass along the message." he noted the googley eyed Grell shadowing the reaper once again. Could this be an opportunity to find out about the bookmark?  
Will was taken aback by the sugar coated sarcasm. The demon had drastically changed since they last met. He dressed human and exchanged pleasantries like one, but still imposed his perfection in everything. The girl was a testimony to that. "N-no-No, i would like to speak in private with him about these matters." he recovered.  
"Very well, will." he agreed. "But he is very busy during the day and does not appreciate much intrusion, as you know. İ think it would be best if you left Grill out and went in with my permission. But even with that, be careful, state your business quickly and nothing else. His kind welcomes wear out quickly" he told the shinigami in an upbeat honest tone. İf he parted from Grill he could certainly obtain information seeing as he was young and naïve, and was sickeningly infatuated with the demon.  
William glanced at the red head thinking it over for a good minute before turning to the teen. "Grill, stay out here. This is important and we cannot risk having the sir upset with us again." he ordered and returned his attention to the demon. "I will follow your advice." he said tersely to him before backing up into an alleyway and disappearing.  
"Angel, are they daddy's friends?" aiko said looking shyly at what she thought was a redheaded girl a little over her age staring off after the older man.  
The demon smiled reassuringly down at her. "Yes, that was William, An old friend of daddy's. And this," he gestured to the red clad teen "is Grill Sutcliff, his apprentice. Grill! This is aiko" he barked catching the red head's attention.  
"Oh!" he exclaimed bending over to give a messy bow. When he came back up he looked the younger human over and looked longingly at the demon. "Is that what you like? You like little girls?" he said heart broken.  
The demon sighed with a forced smile since aiko seemed confused and flustered. "No, i prefer beautiful women. Aiko is like a daughter to the undertaker and me" he clarified feeling uncomfortable with the boy as always. Such a vulgar child.  
Aiko perked up with a winsome beaming smile when a silence fell. "Angel and i were on our way out into town. Since your master is on business with daddy, would you like to join us?" she invited him on their walk, what a good child. Now the demon could inquire as to what the bookmark's significance was.  
"O-of course! Thank you" Grill grinned happily moving to take the demon's left hand so that he was flanked on either side by smiling youths.  
Aiko lead them out to the main streets like she would have any other day and walked in front of the shops. The demon waited for a while before speaking "so, Grill, what was so important that William would risk so much to ask undertaker about?" the demon asked casually leaning down to whisper into his ear as aiko stepped up to window shop at a meager toy store, put out of proper business by the black death.  
Grill blushed hugely and tossed his head side to side. "Oh, well, you do live with him..." he reasoned with himself for a moment before looking down at the cobblestone. "We need his death bookmark back since he's retired but we have been putting it off because the sir didn't want to be disturbed. The management class members wouldn't let us procrastinate any longer so we had to come fetch it for them." he spilled willingly.  
The demon smirked inwardly as he watched aiko ogle the little doll in the window. "The death bookmark? What is so important about that?" he pressed on quite pleased with his successful encounter.  
Grill paused, biting his lip, debating about telling him all about it. The dark haired man serrupticiously ran a hand down the shinigami apprentice's spine and assured him it was ok to speak with him on matters regaurding the undertaker. "It's the key into the library!" he quickly said moving away with an embarrassed-and extremely excited- expression. "The forbidden shinigami library that only the management class shinigami have access to the bookmark opens the door and all the books there is a huge penalty for anyone who isn't management class that goes in there without being escorted." Grill hurriedly said in one shaky breath. İt certainly didn't help the bright red blush engulfing his features, the demon noted amusedly.  
He smiled handsomely at the inhuman teen that had just put his search to rest and given him a great gift. "Then i am glad i could assist you in accomplishing such an important retrieval." he said setting the boy at ease.  
The girly young boy looked up at him with big pleading eyes, forcing himself to make eye contact and not look away. "Can i ask...? Can i ask what...? Y-your relationship with the sir is?" he asked hesitantly.  
İt was a simple question with a simple answer. "Nothing. We merely reside together and take care of aiko." at least that was what he wanted to believe, what he was telling himself every day. Memories of the other night flashed through his mind. Yes, that had only been the undertaker's boredom peaking, nothing more. Then, if that was so, why had it felt so good? The heat was better than that of any woman's doing. İt had been mind blowing... But it meant nothing.  
"Angel! Angel come see!" aiko called out from across the street. How had she gotten that far without him noting and following her? He should pay better attention next time even if he is working. Damn.  
The two men rushed across the street to where she was excitedly pointing to something in a music shop window. "What is it, aiko?" he asked indulgently trying not to let his frustration over losing track of her leak into his calm voice.  
She smiled again at him. "It's beautiful, look!" her little finger touched the glass pointing to a violin shining regally on a wooden stand near the back of the store.  
The thin raven nodded his head appreciatively. "It's a gorgeous violin; it seems well made and maintained. They have a nice sound when an expert caresses the strings." he commented holding up his arms in a playing position.  
The little girl looked at him with a look of surprise and pure hope. "Can you play it, angel?" she asked earnestly.  
He dropped his hands and smiled as if he were embarrassed. The closest thing he had done to playing a violin was watching a skilled street gypsy in Paris playing for money. "Would you like me to?" he said. Both of the kids looked shocked and delighted.  
"Yes, please!" aiko giggled joyfully.  
"Oh! Yes, yes!" Grill jumped up and down like a child.  
The demon smiled and opened the shop door to let them in. İt was extremely dusty, there wasn't much time for recreational activities when you were dying from the plague, and there was no shopkeeper in sight. Strangely, all of the instruments were clean wiped and pristine as if untouched by the filth around them. Aiko brought the black haired demon the violin and bow. İt was beautiful, certainly just as perfect as it looked from the street. He glanced at his audience of two and pictured that French street performer from so long ago.  
"I am a bit rusty, mind you. İ apologize if it is not fitting for such an instrument of beauty." he said raising it up to the playing position.  
The bow slid lightly across the strings and a small harsh note sprung forth causing them to cringe. The demon frowned and brought it back up fluidly fixing the pressure. İt was somewhat sweeter sounding that time. Once more and it sounded like a beautiful woman's voice. Light and lilting, a gentle soul seeming to beg you to listen to her soft whispers of comfort. All traces of doubt washed off their faces, replaced with wonder. Slowly the simple notes turned into the French gypsy's song. Distressed and pianissimo, accompanied by the demon's gentle humming of forgotten lyrics. The effect was a heart wrenching story told without words. He was hurting inside, a long held pain, yet there was something there for him. There should only be despair, yet there was something hidden. The tempo retarded until each note was like a cry to the gathered before accelerating back to its original pace. İt was a tortuous melody that carried you along with its teary tale. İf one would attempt to describe it, they could say it seemed to entice you to jump into oblivion, to throw yourself wholeheartedly into obsession; it called out to the depths of your soul.  
The ditty went on for a little while longer, seeming to imprint upon their minds. İt slowed back down to the main melody that repeated until it got so quiet you had to strain to hear the high sweet notes it sang out. Before they knew it, the man was standing with the bow and violin in one hand with his left hand extended to the back of the store beyond the youths. "Have we disturbed you, madam? İ do apologize for the ruckus."  
The two younger ones turned to see a young woman in an austere blue dress with blonde spikey short hair standing behind the purchase desk. Her eyes were closed. "you didn't resin the bow before playing." she stated simply not opening her eyes.  
"It was already rosined, my lady. İ did not assume to do it once again. İ am sorry if i assumed wrongly" the demon replied to her comment.  
She opened her eyes slowly revealing bright blue skies that locked with the demon's red ones. "Please keep that violin; you have done its beauty justice. İt has been a long time since i have visited my home and you have reminded me of its nostalgia. İ think i shall return soon thanks to your song, sir, thank you." she insisted firmly. The demon did not have the chance to refuse before she disappeared into the back room where she had probably come from initially.  
Aiko rushed up to hug him snugly as did Grill, though it was less endearing coming from the latter, and he quickly put a smile on his bewildered face. "It was amazing, angel! İt was so perfect that nice lady gave it to you for free! You will teach me, won't you, angel?" she pleaded with her big eyes.  
"Of course i will" he smiled petting her pretty dark head. "What kind of angel would i be if i did not teach my dearest?" he asked rhetorically.  
Grill popped his head up. "You'll teach me too, right?" he asked happily. The demon tried to speak up but the apprentice reaper kept going. "I can already sing to accompany it, want to see?" he went on.  
The demon tried once more to inform him he couldn't teach him how since they would not be allowed. But once again he was interrupted. The red boy spun away to the middle of the room and started to raise his arms above his waist as if readying to embrace the sky and opened his mouth. "Te amo, amore mio infinito. Te amo che me so' rincoionito. Te amo, piu' della mia vita~~" he sang out in a rich baritone that surprised everyone. İt was gorgeous, the Italian was even fluently pronounced. "So cotto de te so' nnamorato. Amore mio er core tu mai arubato- uwahhh!" the sound was abruptly cut off when William threw his garden shears looking scythe at his apprentice. The teen narrowly escaped it; İt merely caught his vest in its sharp clutch rather than his little neck.  
"Shinigami don't sing on the job, Grill. İ hate overtime, so come along." the short haired straight laced man commanded turning out of the shop dragging a sobbing Grill behind him.  
A small chuckle came from the corner. "hoho, quite an impressive show from you two. İ had no idea you played the violin." the undertaker laughed stepping out from the shadows. "We didn't expect to walk in on such an interesting performance."  
"Daddy!" aiko squealed running into his arms. "Angel said he would teach me how to play the violin! Was he not amazing?" she gushed proudly as he scooped her up in his arms like a small child.  
The undertaker smiled in his direction a moment. "Oh yes, he certainly was. I'm sure after you learn you can beat him though" he teased.  
"Daddy! İ could never!" she blushed at his apparent blasphemy. He must be havering, she probably thought. İt made the demon smile that she thought so highly of him.  
The undertaker laughed again. "Well, he can't teach you here at any rate. Why don't we return home?" he suggested setting her down. She nodded taking up his hand and reached out for the demon's. They walked home in that manner, two commonly dressed men and an adorable well-dressed young woman. A sight for anyone well enough to see.

"Kitty, kitty! İ just had an amazing idea!" the shinigami exclaimed bolting from his bed coffin in the middle of the night. Luckily he didn't wake little aiko up so the demon merely fixed him with a stare from atop his wood pile where he had been thinking over the day's events. The shinigami jumped up to kneel next to the sitting demon.  
"And what could possibly merit your excitement at a time like this when you and aiko should be sleeping?" he asked a bit irritated. The demon didn't need sleep like the shinigami and humans did but it was nice to close his eyes and rest every once in a while. İt seems the undertaker just didn't want him to be in peace tonight.  
Smiling stupidly he shook his head "nonsense, she hasn't woken up yet." he waved away the comment with a twitch of his wrist and put his hands on the demon's shoulders "besides, we'll have all the time in the world to sleep once we're on the move!"  
The demon mentally face palmed. "Just where do you think we would be going...?" he inquired almost not wanting to ask. What you don't know cannot hurt you, as naïve as it was he wanted to believe that.  
"We're going on a holiday to Schönbrunn Palace in Austria!" he exclaimed and the demon looked at him doubtfully. İt was very like him to come up with strange and stupid ideas. İt threw a rock under his proverbial carriage, so to speak. This new development could delay his plans to use the bookmark.  
He sighed and removed the untrimmed hands from his shoulders calmly. "We cannot. That is a high class human establishment dealing in the arts. İt is not for us, an undertaker and two unemployed citizens. You have to have a high ranking human occupation to reside there even if you're on holiday." he tried to crush the older man's plans with reason. "Aiko is the only one even dressed appropriately for that sort of place."  
"Then we'll steal the clothes. That has never been a problem, as you know. Humans have no way of verifying our titles so if we look the part of gentlemen we can be granted entrance." he pouted slyly and moved to push the demon down under him. "They can teach aiko all sorts of things. Human Professionals from all over the world gather there to be seen by the upper-class nobles and exchange ideas. The widow that owns the palace loves things like that; she supports all forms of art. Culinary, musical, painting, architecture, and all the others. Such a place would make little aiko so happy... But i suppose you don't want her to be happy since you refuse to let us go." he said in a lamenting fashion lowering his body on the demon's. A single pale finger stroked his soft lips as the dark haired man unclenched his teeth. Was he trying to guilt trip him using aiko to go on this whimsical trip? He couldn't argue, the palace was famous for the fine arts and aiko would enjoy herself immensely there. What choice did he have since aiko was involved? He resentfully agreed and the undertaker leaned down to kiss him happily so that the demon had to push him away.  
"When is this proposed holiday to take place?" he asked when the shinigami chuckled and jumped down to pull something out of one of the many coffins.  
He twirled around in a flurry of cloth with an ear splitting grin of his face. "Tonight!" he exclaimed quietly as to not wake up aiko. Presenting two outfits, one of which he tossed up to the demon, he began to strip down and change. The new wardrobe was an expensive looking black suit and purple sash, but he didn't bother taking off his black hat.  
The demon twitched inwardly. "Tonight? No planning or any preparation?" he asked not expecting the immediateness of the capricious holiday. He looked down at his new ensemble; a shiny black tail coat and black ribbon to tie his hair back with. Changing quickly while the shinigami was occupied with pulling a large lacy red dress and corset out of a random coffin he descended to open aiko's coffin quietly. The undertaker wordlessly handed him her new dress to get her changed and left to pack away a few extra never before noticed dresses for her to wear.  
The raven carefully dressed her and pulled her up into his arms to carry her sleeping form. He already had an idea how the undertaker was going to transport them. When the reaper was finished packing his biscuits he joined him at the corner where he took the demon's hand that was not carrying aiko and guided them through the shadows.  
Two minutes later they stood before the large palace wall with a pocket full of stolen notes and a sleeping aiko. Tapers were burning brightly throughout the establishment and merry voices floated to them on the chilly wind, indicators a large party was coming to an end. They had to wait for many carriages to take away the multitudes of wealthy party goers before they could step out of the shadows. All of which aiko slept through as if under a spell. The demon decided not to ask not wanting to wake her up if he got angry for whatever method the undertaker might have used to induce such a state. Besides, there was a more pressing matter. They were not wearing wigs, baggy half pants, and long coats. "You idiot," the dark haired demon said softly but obviously displeased. "Did you see all of those humans? We are not even remotely dressed like that. How do you propose we get in?"  
The undertaker shrugged with an apologetic smile. "How was i supposed to know what 'fashion' is these days outside of my territory? İ cater to the guests of London, not Vienna." a large teasing grin flashed across his lower exposed face "poor aiko, if only someone here could quickly put together a believable disguise for us. İts too bad no one here has the super speed to do it in the next three hours. Oh woe, she will be so disappointed waking up in Vienna with no hope of going to the apex of its being" he said stroking his chin with an overgrown nail.  
The demon huffed heavily. He was using aiko against him again. "Fine, let us find a tailor's shop and i will see what i can do." he acquiesced to an outrageous idea of undertaker's for the second time that night. Of course, another problem arose once they went back into town.  
"Kitty, you wouldn't happen to know what tailor is in German, would you?" the retired shinigami laughed hysterically in the early hours of the morning.  
The demon looked around at the German shop titles and shook his head. "I only speak English, French, Japanese, and a little of old Latin. İts been a while since i visited any Germanic communities." he stared hard at each sign in turn trying to remember something of value.  
"I'm sure the romans loved the you back then, my kitten" the shinigami sniggered turning to pet aiko's cheek affectionately.  
Markt, café... Schneider? İt rang a bell, the demon thought ignoring the snarky remark. Good times, he missed raiding Rome with them. "i think it's the one that reads Schneider." he pointed "hopefully the Austrian German is not that far off from what i know"  
Undertaker set a hand on his shoulder and moved them through the shadows so that they were standing in the corner of the tailor's back room filled with bolts of cloth and fitting dolls.  
The demon looked about, lighting a taper as he surveyed the fabrics, and fretted about where to start. "Undertaker, set aiko in the scrap basket over there (make sure there are NO pins!) And find us two periwigs and some women's powder." he ordered handing aiko over to the silver haired man. "I will be finished by the time you are back"  
The strange reaper smiled and did as he was told leaving the demon to do his work. Luckily there were some unfinished items lying on the work table that he quickly studied the patterns and needle work of. Within moments he had the patterns for one dress and two full male's court attire like he had seen the many upper-class patrons sporting on the way out of the party. So many pieces, he complained, too flaunty. Quickly stitching each layer together with speed greater than a viper's strike and precision far superior to an eagle's, the demon finished the first drafts. "No... This will not do at all!" he whispered to himself tearing the clothes to pieces and tossing them aside. The shoulders on the dress were wrong and it disrupted the flow of maturity for her. The men's attire was too stupid appearing though it was like the others.  
With minor mental pattern adjustments made to both his sewing and the shaped pieces he attempted again. Wrong. Now it was too different, they could only afford to deviate looks so far before being considered out of fashion. He couldn't let that happen to aiko at such an important place. The second set was torn apart. The third time he became more careful and finally nodded his approval. Taking out more coloured thread he set a twisting design of tiny thorny red roses across the chest of the dress for aiko. He finished the intricate design and held it up against the light. Perfect.  
"I'm impressed, to think my pet cat can do so much in an hour!" the undertaker praised with a chuckle appearing behind him to run his hands over the almost invisible rose garden pattern.  
The demon shook his head. "Human fashion is such a tedious triviality. İ had to make two before this somewhat acceptable set" he said gesturing to the shreds of expensive fabric all over the ground. Setting down the dress, he picked up one of the suits and handed it to the undertaker. "this is yours, I'm sure it will fit your sense of humour. Especially the pants, they might just be big enough for that abysmal wit of yours" he joked pushing him away to change himself. They would take these clothes with them to wear on outings to the town, but not to their grand entrance to the Schönbrunn palace.  
The demon finished in a blink of an eye but the shinigami hadn't moved to dress himself. He asked what the undertaker was waiting for. "You always dress aiko. Please?" he pleaded with the raven, holding out his clothes.  
The demon glanced out the window. The sun was rising in this part of the world already. "Did you get the things i asked for?" the silver haired man nodded in response. "very well, but it will have to be quickly because i have to get her dressed and find a coach to drive us there in high regards." he agreed taking the clothes from his elder.  
The shinigami looked disappointed when he was redressed in a matter of seconds, leaving to attend to aiko immediately after the last button was hooked. They both felt strange in their puffy black breeches secured tightly above their calves, knee length black coats, and frilly white cravats tied about the nape of their necks. Two darkly covered peacocks if ever there were such before. The demon had spared them some of the finer details and cut down on the surfeit of cloth to less baggy but, a required style was a required style.  
The dark haired raven gently supported aiko as he stripped her down at a normal yet methodical careful pace. İt wouldn't do for her to wake up just yet. She slipped snugly into the under skirt, semi tight laced corset (he would tighten it when she woke up), and red petticoat. Lastly he put her over dress on and pinned it up behind her hips like the other women he saw. İt looked quite nice on her actually; the straight line of the neck across her chest exemplified her delicate shoulder line. There were only a few things missing. How would they curl her hair at such short notice?  
His vision went dark as something hairy was dropped on his head. "Here is your periwig, kitty. Though i think it doesn't really fit your cute image like the rest of the clothes do. Then again, all clothes really do not befit you since you look best without wearing anything" the demon shook the black curly mane out of his eyes and looked up at the grinning man holding out a strip of straight cut red velvet with a threaded needle through it and two small diamonds. "Thought you might want these for her, many of the women wore these 'eardrops' so i found these. Her ears are already pierced so it should be fine. İ also found these" he grinned holding up a red hair ribbon and two curlers he most likely stole.  
The demon could not help but feel inadequate that he was not the one to think of those. Setting her down, he sewed the close fitting cloth around the base of her neck as a tight necklace. "The face powder?" he asked threading the diamonds through the holes in her little ears. Good. He wrapped aiko's hair around the cylinders tightly to leave a good curl and left the back to be done when she had finished a decent period of rest. The shinigami handed him the puffball and white dusty substance to powder over her exposed skin to make her an almost European white as opposed to her beautiful ivory. Both men sighed over the temporary loss until the undertaker patted the demon's shoulder to pick her up.  
He did as expected and turned to see the undertaker flinging the pile of black and red scraps into the bin behind him. When the room bore no real evidence of their presence undertaker shouldered their bag and they set off through the shadows to manifest in the shadow of a high end stable just outside of town. The demon passed aiko off to the curly white wigged undertaker and went in to commandeer an eccentric carriage to take them to the palace. A page would also be sent ahead of them to give a letter to the widow stating that two gentlemen and their daughter would be visiting from a faraway place. İt turned out to be a difficult task with the demon's atrocious broken German but he managed to get the vague point across when he pulled out handful of notes and said the name of the palace. Money was an instigator of many things for humans; he thought dourly when the Austrian man nodded at the familiar incentive of money. A sizable carriage was brought out for them to wait in until the page returned to confirm that they were accepted. The page had seen their nice clothes so hopefully he would convey their veneer wealth.  
They had been waiting in the plush carriage for an hour when aiko finally woke up in her daddy's arms. "Good mor

ing, aiko" the two men greeted with smiles when she sleepily covered her eyes. She was quite unused to waking up with any sort of light, even the dim morning rays filtering in through the drawn blinds in the carriage.  
"Where are we?" she asked looking around hazily before her eyes settled on the demon. "And why are you wearing that silly outfit, angel?" her confused face was just too cute with her scrunched up nose.  
The demon chuckled. "Daddy decided to take you on a special trip." he paused with a small smile when she waited in suspense. Dramatic affect was rather well used. "We are in Vienna, Austria about to be guests at Schönbrunn palace. That is why WE are dressed like this" he corrected.  
She looked at the undertaker dressed identical to her angel and giggled before looking down at herself. "Ah!" she gasped jumping out of the man's lap in ecstatic glee. She twirled around experimentally and felt the cloth. She seemed to find it very acceptable because she embraced both of them tightly. "Thank you! This is amazing!" she giggled posing like a stereotypical rich lady. The undertaker smirked at the demon who glared at him fleetingly before they both smiled as she looked back at them. She seemed to be very pleased indeed.  
Beckoning her with a finger the demon chuckled. "Come here, i have yet to finish the unpleasant part of the dress. İ have to tighten your corset." he said and she rolled her eyes playfully before stepping in front with her back turned to him. Mercifully he used his fastest speed to undo her over dress and tighten the corset just so as to not kill her but keep in check with the female dress policy of the rich. Before she could gasp he was redoing the clasps on her red over dress and pulling her hair into a tight bun letting the curlers fall out to let her face be framed perfectly by dark curls. "Are you well, aiko? İt did not hurt too much i hope" he asked turning her around to get a good look.  
She was perfect, just as she had been when he first held her in his sights. A beautiful little woman. She smiled hugely catching her breath. "It's all well, i see the rich women like this all the time. Now i am a lady too!" she said happily throwing her arms around him again. When she released him she was still smiling. "How did you do this?" she asked.  
"We spared no expense." the undertaker spoke up holding out his hands to indicate everything. "A first class tailor, a first class speedy carriage, and a first class holiday. All for our little aiko." he added on slyly "now all we need is a first class laugh, right, angel?"  
The demon bit back a remark on his sanity when the carriage door opened to the driver averting his eyes. "Lady von Gonzaga has accepted your request to journey to her palace. We will be leaving now, sirs and madam." he informed them shutting the door with a bow.  
Little aiko made a funny face. "What is it, aiko?" the demon asked with a touch of humour.  
"Why wouldn't he look at us?" she asked puzzled.  
Both men chuckled at her innocent inquiry. İt was a moment before the demon could speak much to the undertaker's amusement. "Humans put themselves into separate classes defined by their amounts of monetary wealth. These social classes are treated somewhat as a hierarchy of different species. We passed into the upper trophy class and that man is now below us according to these social standards. Therefore, he treats us as his betters. Beautiful roses we are" he explained with a humoured smile on his face that was very real. She was so innocent to the human ways still because of living with inhuman guardians. İt was very endearing.  
The carriage started up and she was forced to sit down. "But why is that, angel? Money does not make someone better or more beautiful!" she pressed on.  
"In an egalitarian sense, yes. But humans are not very logical creatures until you think as they do. You will understand one day" the undertaker soberly answered for him cutting off the conversation.  
As aiko was, she immediately obeyed her father and quieted down. Though it was obvious she was not satisfied with their answers, she would not keep speaking when it would make them unhappy. The demon was interested too but because of the undertaker's wording. İt was true that eventually the demon would leave them for hell but his tone just seemed so sad and more immediately impending than that. What could he mean?  
"I forgot to mention, our names are-"  
"sieur eclair, sieur fette, ach lady aiko" the German announcer clearly had trouble pronouncing their French aliases. "Our lady, von Gonzaga!" he introduced and they bowed to the late emperor's widow; an older woman wearing a cap to conceal her thinning hair.  
The demon smiles and led his party in a short formal bow. "Please tell her it is an honour to meet the beautiful lady of this great household" he said looking at the rich noblewoman in possession of the palace and its lands.  
The very bad translator that was sent out for attempted to understand and more than likely made up formalities for them that suited the situation and made him look good. The woman smiled a politician smile and waved them away, having approved of them as far as fashion went.  
They bowed and thanked the translator before making their way to the kitchen. İt was common knowledge that aiko would want to indulge in the chef's department first and foremost. İn fact, she would most likely remain there all during their holiday except when they played violin if a fellow violinist could be found.  
Aiko let out a gasp when undertaker 'fette' opened the doors to many men of culinary skill showing off their cooking skills and avidly explaining their methods. She immediately made her way through quite a few surprised men and started questioning the current chef showcasing his flambé.  
"Aiko! Be careful with the flames and knives, understood?" the demon called out to her and she nodded quickly returning to her inquisitions. İt looked like she would be well here, he thought. Undertaker wandered off without a word leaving the demon to watch from the sidelines memorizing every step, ingredient, and detail of the on goings. The cooks seemed to enjoy her enthusiasm and knowledge of herbs they used. When they actually understood her questions they also were impressed on how observative she was. She would ask about certain variation of mixtures and temperatures using her hands and gestures to communicate without words. İt was even helpful that she was wringing out countless tips and secrets from each one of them that he did not have to move a finger to learn. He knew that later he would pretend to have her teach him to make her feel special though.  
Around midday the assembled all left to take a break with samples of their work out for anyone to taste and the demon took aiko by the hand to go look for their next interest. Musical talents were in a different part of the palace but they found their way easily from the drifting sound of instruments playing. Sure enough, they found a lone violinist who seemed happy when the undertaker appeared to hand the demon his violin and bow. The German gestured for them both to play and the demon nodded taking up his violin to air stroke the notes as the other man played the melody once for him to hear. He twirled his hand for the black clad Frenchman to play it back. The replication was perfect right away so the German added in a second part. Aiko stood transfixed by her angel playing a tune so beautifully with a foreigner that he had just learned on the spot by ear. He was perfect.  
When they finished, the demon spotted a viola and smiled. He pointed to aiko and the miniature violin and mimed playing it. Then he pointed to him and her and gestured that she did not know how to play. The German man smiled in understanding. He handed the viola to the delighted young girl and held her arms in the proper start position. She grinned up at him and plucked her first note with an awful screech. Her face fell but the dark wigged man merely smiled and encouraged her to keep going, to try again. The demon sat down in a chair behind them and watched as her strokes became purer and surer. They still were not incredibly pleasant, but it seemed to be made up for by the sound of her laughter. The sun had shifted quite a bit before she retired and curtsied to the man after she returned his viola.  
Undertaker came up and praised her for her good work and told her it was time to get ready for dinner. The demon almost followed when the man stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He gestured to himself and said "ich bin Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber." he bowed his head slightly in greeting. Then he pointed to the demon.  
He was introducing himself. "Ich bin sieur éclair" he emulated the introduction he received. Biber smiled a little and held up one finger for a moment before pointing to the demon's violin. One more song? He put his hand on his chest in question and the man nodded so he raised his violin to position. Biber made no move to join him so he figured it was a solo this time. Perhaps a test of skill, he supposed. İf that was the case, he would not have himself leave a bad impression. He listened for a moment to pick up the melody of the moment and began playing. A legato first note followed by many short staccato trills proceeded by another painfully long high note. He kept on this melody raising it an octave every other time until it was a cry once more.  
As he came down faster than an avalanche biber's own voice was added in. Strong willed and highly emotional. Not the sweet cries the demon portrayed but pure human emotion. Not one that beckoned but reflected the human's soul. The demon smirked and started an andante rhythm with intricate repeated notes going all over the scale. Franz Biber kept up a few beats behind him. Without realizing it, the raven began purposely creating a two part canon with his fellow violinist. Both dark wigged musicians were bearing down on their mediums until it finally ended in a low drawn out C.  
Neither had noticed the small crowd that assembled in silence until they began respectfully clapping and the men bowed to the gathered audience. The raven quickly shook hands with Franz Biber and bowed his head in apology as he left to find aiko and the undertaker.  
They were waiting for him beyond the doorway in the corridor. "When did you get so talented, hmm? You will never catch up to aiko, you know" the undertaker joked returning the instrument to a coffin shaped case in his satchel.  
"Of course, but i can only hope to measure up next to her" he lamented with a small smile knowing it would make her laugh. She thought it was amusing that she could so much as be compared to her angel. But it was nice seeing that smile.  
She took up his hand. "The translator tried to find us but we hid since we can't speak French. You should find him to see what he wanted" she suggested walking with them to the dining hall.  
"Aiko, i don't think he can either." he confided kissing her little hand. "But i will try to talk to him" he promised.  
İt turned out that the bad translator was inviting sieur éclair to play for dinner after getting word that he was talented. So the demon made up sweet songs for the four hours it took the dazed listeners to eat the food the guest chefs had prepared all day. At the end of the extremely long dinner the translator said something about the lady offering a room and handed them a key. Soon after a servant found them and led them up to a room and none too soon; aiko had already fallen asleep in the undertaker's arms. İt was improper so it was fortunate that they had a bed to lay her on in a private room. The undertaker stripped her to her chemise and tucked her in, letting her have one of the two adjacent bedrooms they had gotten. Blowing out all the tapers in both the rooms and shutting her door the undertaker joined the demon in the double bed front room after the miniature foyer.  
The raven had already removed his bothersome clothing and the silver haired man followed suit setting his wig next to the black one. He settled on the bed and laid a hand on the demon's chest and kissed him softly. "I don't like my name, lord confection. Are you trying to say i need to lose weight? İ have not been retired that long" he teased.  
"Who is the one wearing a silver wig the same colour as your inhuman hair?" he volleyed back. The retired reaper smiled and snuggled in close under the covers. Unusually sweet for him.  
"I like my hair..." he pretended to yawn "and aiko had fun. You did well letting us come here. So remember to actually sleep tonight, i know you don't need to but it feels good. Or so i hear" he said softly.  
The demon let out a feathery sigh. "What is with you suddenly, may i ask?" he said restraining his impulsive urge to pet the head of silver hair buried in his bare chest.  
The older man reached up and kissed him again, deeper and warmer this time, but just as slow and gentle. The demon melted into the kiss and wrapped his arm around him tightly. He even kissed back of his own volition before the shinigami pulled away. "No, you may not" the man whispered softly and claimed his lips again but for a moment before snuggling back in his arms and falling asleep. Things were getting very... Domestic, the demon nearly shivered at the word. He could only hope it wasn't something bad before he let himself drift off to sleep for the first time in decades.  
The next several days were much the same as the first. Aiko shared her herbal knowledge with the high class cooks and they showed her many different desserts, even they could see how her face lit up at the mention of sweets. Chocolate had been one of her favorites. She loved the smooth sweet taste of it so much that she had cajoled one of the younger Germans to go over the production of toblarone many times until she had it memorized down to the way he moved his arms. Many of the men had taken to giving her recipes and small gifts before she left at midday to visit the music wing.  
Franz Biber was an exemplary tutor for the violin. He was able to make aiko wring out a decent melody in a week, huge progress when juxtaposed with other human minors. She also worked very hard and did her best to please the man. On the third day, after he had seen her fast learning skills, he allowed her to borrow the viola overnight so that the demon could oversee her extra practices in their private rooms. Both he and the raven had played a game of one upping the other on the violin and had grown friendly. Franz Biber would sit across from them at meals and have half understood conversations translated by the raven haired man who was improving rapidly but was still nowhere near fluent. Listening to the cooks speaks to aiko and each other helped him refresh some of his German.  
The undertaker was jovial as ever when he checked up on them periodically after disappearing off to somewhere for long hours at a time. He would always quiz aiko over what she learned and call her a genius when everything was done. He called her perfect when she practiced an hour after her evening meal daily. Everyone in the palace spoiled her wherever she went. The demon thought that she was what humans called a multitalented social butterfly. He was also deeply pleased every time she smiled, giggled, and acceled in her activities. Everything about her made him deeply hungry.  
On their seventh day the undertaker insisted she take a break and sleep in just this once. So they left little aiko in the locked room with a pot of tea promising to retrieve her when it was time to share their midday meal. The raven made his rounds to apologize to her 'friends' and inform them she was fatigued that day from all the excitement and needed to rest. "What a nice gentleman, kitty" the undertaker giggled when he was finished. "I have a few things you might find interesting... Come along!" taking the demon's arm he bounced away to the drawing room where a dozen men sat around arguing over designs and measurements.  
Their talk seemed to stem from the large pile of blueprints on the table at the center of the dissonant circle. A few glances revealed that a group of supports were circled because they were off. From what he could discern, they were debating over how best to support the building in a safe yet fashionable way. Fashion again, he sighed. He let his eyes roam over the papers taking in every angle and curve. One or two of the men cast interested looks his way when he came in but everyone gasped when he picked up the drawing pencil and sketched in a wide pillar with arching supports across the outer edges and smaller supports that rippled out the rest of the way.  
For a moment everyone was in an uproar. At first it was anger at the foreign stranger for barging in and scribbling over their work, then it turned incredulous when they began looking it over. İt was a flawless balance of weight throughout the building. The undertaker chuckled and led the demon out as the architects began questioning him. "Well, you surpassed their fancy architects." he said tickled bringing him to the next room. "Can you do this?"  
Here many noblemen were long sword sparring with each other in fair combat overseen by a peer referee. It seemed to be a rather brutish double handed side swipe of the thin but somewhat wide blade that could be blocked with the flat of your weapon. Also use of hands and legs were not banned from use in certain situations as long as it was not violent, as observed when the referee reprimanded one of the duelists for butting too hard. Entirely simple. The shinigami prodded him to step up when the current round was finished. The demon signaled the winner and expressed his desire to be his next opponent.  
A few of the Austrians laughed behind their hands at the scrawny foreigner but the man accepted indulgently. His conquered fellow handed over the long sword and padded chest cover to sieur éclair with an amused expression. Apparently this man was good at his sport and no one thought the thin stranger could win over him, especially since he didn't seem to have any previous encounters despite being here for a few days. Most wrote him off as a curious amateur before he even took his spread legged stance sword clutched as if to swing a cricket bat. The referee nodded to both in turn after a confused greeting and commenced the sparring duel.  
The overconfident Austrian came at him swiftly from above and the demon caught it on the flat easily. He was a little faster than most humans, but not enough to adequately surprise a demon. Bewildered that the new face had reacted so quickly he couldn't help but falter giving the dark haired man an opening. The raven dealt a soft blow to his side and both stepped away. Onlookers fell silent when the referee held up a finger for the amateur Frenchman. The second attack was signaled and conversation struck into full force with questions and restrained displays of interest. No matter what the master swordsman did, the stranger blocked and retaliated effectively. In no time at all the score was settled 10-00 with the black wigged stranger taking victory.  
The undertaker let out a startling cackle of laughter as the demon returned the equipment to an awestruck bystander and happily thanked his defeated opponent for the invigorating duel. Again the retired reaper led him out to another room. "All right, i promise this is the last one and we will head back to retrieve aiko for our midday meal." he compromised with a giggle when the demon attempted to walk back to the guest residence hall. Something was tickling him an awful lot, the raven noted irately. He could do anything the fool could throw at him.  
He almost cursed fate when he saw the next challenge: poetry. Lady von Gonzaga and many others were gathered at a large table with feather quill pens and parchment writing German lyrics and reciting old ones. His German was just incomplete enough to where any attempt at poetry would be poor. He could tell undertaker was inwardly sniggering at his disability. The hypocrite, he couldn't even speak enough German to ask where the latrines were. The lady invited him to the chair across from her with a look of interest so that he was obliged to follow her request. So with feather in hand and shinigami hanging over his shoulder, he fumed over his choices before settling down. No one specified what language it had to be in. There was not an English or French speaking soul around to hear it. All eyes furtively watched him as he began writing.

'I am the false angel, a dark prophet,  
watching over the pure being of love.  
Black of night blinding  
the naïve good.

I wait for death  
yet it escapes into  
my own dark veil.  
When will it find me worthy?

Pouring out lies into the night  
letting you worship me.  
I am your angel, pure one,  
your one and only.

One day,  
when it is time,  
your being i will steal  
for it is mined already.'

He wrote it in long elegant strokes so that it looked official and beautiful. Small black ravens flew about a smiling young girl penned with delicate curves and sweet features. The lady asked to see it and, after realizing it was not written in German, asked him to read it out loud. Thankfully undertaker kept a straight face as he read it to the assembled writers as if it were a tender love poem. Embellishments were made to make it sound affectionate and confident; the demon's sultry voice coveted most of their attention. When he was done with the short script he had won the hearts of all the women of the room with the caring expressions on his handsome angular face and his emotional voice. It amused him but not as much as the arrogant knowledge that he had foiled the other man's plans to see him fail.  
This time he was forced to wait an hour or two before leaving since he was to remain to hear out the other's poetry. It was no surprise that most of the ladies wrote about a beautiful stranger luring you into love. It almost bore him to death (how he wished even now with aiko that was so!) with how many unnecessary references and praises were directed at their god. They would talk about being seduced then suddenly god was giving them a marriage just from meeting, then thank him for things he had nothing to do with. As a demon he knew of no god beyond the shinigami nor heard any shinigami so much as hint that there was a higher being somewhere. He supposed it was just another one of humanity's strange qualities. They devoted themselves to unseen things they had no way of confirming. He politely commended the lady von Gonzaga on her poem and excused himself to prepare for the communal midday meal. The women longingly watched him go as they exited quickly to get away from the quiet boredom.  
"Has your curiosity been sated, undertaker?" he asked evenly though it was obvious to the other man that his real tone was haughty. It was in the subtle movements and nuances, perfect though he was, that usually gave away his true feelings to the man he had spent much time with.  
The coffin maker smiled innocently. "I was merely taking you around, kitten. I have no idea what you mean." he grinned feigning ignorance. The demon felt good about him at the moment since it seemed he had put the man off his little game. He was too perfect to lose.  
"Of course, of course, you merely seemed interested in the subjects and i thought that you wanted to see if i liked them" he explained fakely. "You chose some very interesting places. I'm sure you excel in them" he said sarcastically.  
"Where have you two been? I have been waiting for you to come back, i have been so lonely!" aiko exclaimed running up to embrace her daddy and angel before they had barely stepped into the room. It made the demon want to smile seeing her worried and melodramatically destitute show of affection. She was too cute at times for her own good, he thought remembering how much he had wanted her from the very beginning. If only she did not look so deliciously tasty.  
The retired shinigami pushed her back a step to fix her tousled apparel before smiling comfortingly in his creepy way. "Angel was showing off to all of the nobles in your stead, little daughter. You left them wanting more with your amazing talent so much that he could barely appease them with his mediocre skills." he tittered making her blush with the compliment. Undertaker never got tired of that ploy no matter how many times he used it to flatter aiko at the expense of the raven's mood. It was not the repetitive use but the fact that he did it more for the latter of the two results than the former.  
The demon smiled. "Unless you want to stay alone here longer, we need to get you properly dressed for the meal." he commented on her night shift appearance. "Unless you are going for romantic negligence which i might say is looked down upon by these people."  
The little girl giggled happily and allowed him to dress her and tighten her corset so that they could eat after skipping breakfast that morning. Not that either immortal was hungry, it was simply for aiko's and form's sake. At the table Franz Biber was waiting for them as was custom lately. Aiko warmly greeted him and they all sat down.  
Most of the conversation was about composers and the usual until Franz Biber mentioned something interesting. "You are truly departing from us after this week's end party?" the demon clarified a little sadly.  
The Austrian nodded regretfully saying he was only here for a small trip and that no one knew he was at the palace, He had to return to his employer before too long or else it would be noticed that he was missing. The raven remembered that, a party in four days' time. He would miss the violinist but he had to think of a new grander dress for aiko to wear on the occasion. He apologized for his sudden news and the demon told him it would be a lonely place for music without him. It seemed to strike him as funny because he began laughing and said something about violins not needing an orchestra to be happy. The dark haired man laughed with him though he himself did not get the humour.  
At the end of the day, not a second after aiko was tucked away and dreaming, the demon pulled a large quantity of rich red and black out from under the bed and set to work. Undertaker stifled a laugh as to not wake the child and teased his pet. "I never even saw you leave to acquire that. Are you trying to turn into an old woman on me?" he snickered undressing himself.  
The demon let out a bothered sigh instead of giving the shinigami the pleasure of his attention. His mind was running through all of the various fashions he had seen on the women since their arrival. It would be wondrous if their style was more diverse, that way he would have a myriad of choices rather than his pittance of options. The most room for divergence and personalization stemmed from the austentacious decorations on the petticoat. That would be what he would focus on then.  
He was so engrossed carefully cutting each piece to perfectly fit his design that he did not notice undertaker's arms wrapping around his neck from behind. The other man's bare body was pressed snugly against his clothed back as he gently undid the buttons of the demon's long black coat. The raven eventually threw the piece of clothing aside after much prodding from the other man and soon after his shirt and cravat followed. When he set aside his admittedly stolen scissors and picked up the threaded needle to start stitching together the over dress he started finding the silver haired man exceedingly annoying. Undertaker removed the wigs and tossed them onto the oak dresser across the room. The demon could feel by the tensed muscles pressed against his back that he was not very happy about his kitty's current silent treatment. The impatient man could at least wait for him to finish the first piece of the dress before he attempted to molest him.  
The last stitch was put in the overdress and he held it up for inspection. It looked eye-catching even without the designs he was going to embroider on the chest to match the petticoat, with its long close fitted sleeves that slitted starting at the elbow and drape like straight neck. It would fit beautifully when the time came for aiko to wear it. "can you not hurry, kitty? I want to sleep sometime tonight!" the shinigami groaned into his ear as his hands roamed down to stroke the demon's covered crotch.  
"You can go to sleep whenever you like, i am not deterring you from rest." he replied coldly removing the intruding hands from his body. Setting the dress in his lap he reached for the scissors that were supposed to be next to him. When his hand didn't meet with the metal he turned to see a huge grin. "Where did you put the scissors?"  
The man kept grinning as if something was terribly funny. "Would you like them back?" he asked running a long nail down the dark haired man's spine.  
"I need to keep working, so yes, i would." he answered suspiciously. He could never trust that smile.  
Too late he regretted his words. "Here, you can have your precious scissors back." undertaker giggled shoving them into his back. Whether by bad luck or ill precise intent, it lodged into his heart. Blood poured out from his mouth and he hurriedly tossed aside the dress to protect it from being stained. The retired shinigami snorted derisively behind him. "i don't want to go to sleep until after I'm satisfied, kitty."  
"You know well that this will not stop me for very long, shinigami." already the pain was fading and as soon as the weapon was removed blood would be the only indicator of violence dealt to him. He had merely served to forestall the completion of the dress.  
"Which is why i am doing this." he giggled and turned it side ways to pull open the scissors inside of him. The demon gasped as the pain flared back up in his heart and more blood seeped out his lips. He was hapless but to comply when the shinigami snapped them shut again and pushed him down to his knees facing him as the undertaker sat on the edge of the bed. "A master doesn't like being ignored by his pet. It is time you made it up to me for this week, kitty."  
The demon's eyes widened immediately understanding the situation by his subservient position before undertaker, whom was sporting a full erection already. "undertaker-" his plea was cut off when the scissors twisted snapping at his inner organ.  
Undertaker pulled him harshly down on him by his black fringes. "Suck, pet" he commanded highly. Another rip in his heart and the demon's hesitation was forgotten. He took the thick organ into his mouth and proceeded to such him off. The reaper's precum mixed with his own blood and the demon was grateful he did not possess a gag reflex. He slid his tongue up the underside of the shaft and tongued the slit at the tip. Slowly working down seemed to frustrate the shinigami because he twisted the scissors and forced the dark haired man to deep throat him without warning. The demon kept his teeth in check as the undertaker clutched his hair tighter and started thrusting into his mouth with a brute force. He was sure a human's skull would have been crushed with the sheer power he was using. It almost hurt as much the internal wound if not in a different way. It angered him more than anything when he discharged in his mouth leaving him with little option but to swallow his seed.  
Even with his orgasm, the undertaker was not finished it seemed. He used the shank to force him up by pulling on a rib until it cracked a little. "Take off your pants, kitty. Then i want you to come here" he ordered watching gleefully as the demon did as he was told. When the younger was stark naked he took a moment to look over the lean inhuman body. "I never get tired of seeing you in red and white, my kitten~" he cooed pulling him into his lap. The penetration was immediate and unduled by pleasure. It hurt very much this time but unlike his previous experience, pleasure did not take over. The undertaker was not aiming for his prostate but thrusting into him with a sense of sick abandon. He pulled himself to climax many times but kept the demon at bay with a restraining grip. The cursed raven's neck and shoulders were littered with bleeding bite marks.  
Many hours later, the shinigami kissed the top of his head and absconded under the sheets to fall asleep. "Goodnight, kitty, i can't wait to take aiko out for a special surprise in the morning." he yawned with a satisfied giggle.  
It was fairly obvious that it was a threat. Fuming, the demon picked up the needle and started to furiously embroider the red overdress. Too early he finished the design that had gotten more convoluted then he would have wanted. It was a mettle of tortuous roses with thorns springing from tight knots in the vines. Damn it all, he cursed running outside.  
His body rippled as a host of dark feathers enveloped his form. He could feel his body slimming and his raven hair growing out to his true form. It felt good running this way, his heeled boots giving him the familiarity necessary to truly run as himself. It would have been perfect if not for the fading ache in his body. He reached back and pulled the scissors out from his back as he jumped onto the rooftop of a thatch house. It was imperfect, tainted, loathsome. It made him sick to have this slight flaw. He wanted to be that perfect pitch black darkness.  
He lept on the first lone person he saw; a raggy street whore. She screamed as he wrapped one lithe black hand around her neck to hold her. A finger to her lips hushed her. He was hungry. He was angry. Tears were streaming down her unfortunate features. It would be so easy.  
He left her passed out on the street untouched, still hungry.  
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*  
little whisperings of awe and approval went through the party goers when the three French nobles entered the ball room. Women were asking where aiko had gotten her dress made and commenting on how mature and beautiful it made her appear. The demon stifled an angry retort when a few went as far as to enquire why she always wore red and tell her young ladies should wear more white and pearls. Both men laughed fakely and the demon told them that in France, red were a royal colour and they would have her adorned in nothing less. He then went on to tell them that though he would not dress aiko like them, Austrian women such as them looked gorgeous in pearl and pastel. In return, the ladies fawned over them and their alluring foreign ways. This of course caused a bit of jealousy on the part of their lord husbands who eventually used the music as an excuse to tear them away.  
The undertaker cackled next to him and the demon casually led aiko onto the dance floor to get away from him. He had touched him every available chance he had when aiko was not with them every minute for the last four days. The raven could do nothing but pretend to smile when aiko returned. Every second had been a lie in his heart; even if the little girl was doing things he would normally get a genuine smile watching. "It was really nice of daddy to find a dance tutor for us, was it not, angel?" she asked happily twirling in her new dress. She seemed to love every eye on her in the gown her angel had gotten her.  
"Yes, he is a kind man" a flash of an agreeable smile with his lie. "How do you like your new dress? Does it suit you?" he asked changing the subject as he led her in the dance.  
She nodded grinning youthfully. "i love it, thank you, angel" they spun to the side letting the preponderance of skirts fan out a little as if dancing in its own right.  
"If i could not make a beautiful dress for a beautiful aiko, i would not be much of an angel. It is the least i can do for you." he smiled softly back at her. The way that smooth ivory skin blushed prettily to match her dress made him feel very hungry. It was a good feeling. This adorable child he sashayed through the wealthy hall with in the midst of human lords and ladies. For a moment he was king of time.  
The song ended and he felt a tap on his shoulder. He let go of one of aiko's hands to face a young flustered Austrian noble. Fifteen if he had to guess. The boy almost pulled off sounding confidant when he asked to dance with her. Many people were watching to see the tall foreigner's reaction to the request; no one had ever seen the young red clad girl without her shadow in all their stay at the palace. The demon would have refused if undertaker had not stepped in to place the teenager's hand over aiko's and translate the request. To his anger, she blushed a deeper red when he led her away for the next song.  
The shinigami brassily took him by the hand to steer him to the side skirts of the hall when he would not move, transfixed by the sight of his little girl walking away from him. "Oh~ has someone gotten attached? My, i never thought demons could have feelings of affection. Did you think she would be ours forever?" undertaker chuckled quietly in his ear under the royal chamber orchestra playing behind some wall. The demon fought the overwhelming urge to throw him into the ground with his guests, remembering the crowd of people. This was important to aiko. "She is a human after all, so fleetingly fickle and sweet while whilst it lasts. Maybe we should give her away now to lessen the pain, hm? Since you are leaving us as well eventually. We would not want anything holding you back~..."  
The last year clicked in his mind as the retired shinigami walked off laughing like a circus freak had just shown him a very funny trick that he just had to tell someone at the dessert table about. That bastard! That sly, conniving, deceiving, sadistic, and vile bastard! That had been his plan since the beginning. It was not to annoy, burden, or distract him. Aiko was supposed to lure him into a tie with this world. An anchor to debar him from departing back to his own world. She had seduced him into the realm of humanity rather than vice versa. He was right on only one original account, that she was undertaker's pawn with a specific goal in mind. But everything just blew him away. The worst, the very thing that made him nearly lose his impeccable composure, was humiliating and enraging.  
He had helplessly fallen for it.  
He looked up sharply when the room fell silent. Von Gonzaga was calling a toast to Austria and its nobles. She thanked them for spending their first Sunday of September with her in Schönbrunn palace. The rest of her speech faded into the night as the irate demon disappeared unnoticed from the window. He lept the wall with a small amount of extra force that landed him on a nearby roof top instead of the ground. He could not stand being used anymore.  
Removing his wig and austentacious sash the demon pulled out the death bookmark. He would see how the undertaker liked being duped for once when the demon got all he wanted, leaving the silver haired fool behind blabbering in disbelief. No, shame and disgrace. The torturer deserved the entire shinigami race turned against him for letting a demon into their sacred files. It was a victory that lay ahead of him no matter how he looked at it. The time had come to begin his journey home.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
the demon in his true form ran faster than he had ever bothered to before. If the shinigami could use the shadows to immediately catch up to him when they grasped the situation, then it would be prudent to get back to London as fast as possible. He could not allow anyone else to see his face for fear it would get back to William. No matter his self-depletory intentions, he did not want them to bother aiko when he was gone. It was useless being mad at her; she was too pure to feel anger towards. She had not known of anything. His child had only done what both of the men had encouraged in her. It was not her fault the undertaker had twisted her into their tortuous lives.  
He fingered the bookmark and exited the shinigami realm, manifesting within the shadows of his house of Pudding Street. Heaving a sigh of relief with his eyes closed in a slightly relaxed manner he ran a hand through his bangs. A new record, surely, one minute between two dimensions and most of a continent. Now he only had to find where the ex-shinigami kept his-  
"there you are. You have been a very bad kitty, haven't you~?" the demon's muscles strung up tight in surprise, much like in the moments the bullet would graze his skin lovingly before entering his skull when he used to shoot himself. It was almost a welcome feeling had it not been inspired by the man he had just been thinking of. "Would you like to tell me where you have been, hmm? I really think it would be better for aiko if you came clean, so to speak" the shinigami chuckled.  
The raven's eyes flew open and a feral hiss issued from his inhuman lips. Aiko was asleep in her under garments on the undertaker's lap, her dark haired head resting soundly on his shoulder. He sat on his work bench petting her head with one hand and holding his scythe to her neck with the other. His face was calm and giggly as if he were merely holding their dear aiko that had passed out during the ball back in Austria. He looked as if his death wielding hand had a mind of its own defying the will of the rest of the body. "I did not want aiko to see her angel in such a state so i bade her good night so that we could await your return like a good family." undertaker grinned.  
A cacophony of thoughts was racing through his mind. Questions, uncontrollable hate, anger, helplessness, and conviction. In no time at all he went with the strongest impulse; lunging at the elegant scythe as the undertaker's smile morphed into a surprised grimace.

MADAM RED; PFFFT THAT WAS LONG


	5. a shattering of dreams

Our precious immortal days5

MADAM RED: hello, dearest readers! It is wonderful to see you again! This chapter is going to be short and transitional, okay? I really would love some reviews… please? Ill rape Sebby some more *puppy dog eyes* anyways, today I have Ran Mao and Lau here to introduce us.

Lau: I'm sorry you had to see me like this, though, I for one always knew we would meet this way… hello! *hugs Ran Mau on his lap* XxDamnedForeverxX owns nothing but Aiko's soul... Speaking of aiko, have you brushed up on your demonology lately? Hmm, little sister?

Ran Mau: hai…

Last time on OPID…

"There you are. You have been a very bad kitty, haven't you~?" the demon's muscles strung up tight in surprise, much like in the moments the bullet would graze his skin lovingly before entering his skull when he used to shoot himself. It was almost a welcome feeling had it not been inspired by the man he had just been thinking of. "Would you like to tell me where you have been, hmm? I really think it would be better for aiko if you came clean, so to speak" the shinigami chuckled.  
The raven's eyes flew open and a feral hiss issued from his inhuman lips. Aiko was asleep in her under garments on the undertaker's lap, her dark haired head resting soundly on his shoulder. He sat on his work bench petting her head with one hand and holding his scythe to her neck with the other. His face was calm and giggly as if he were merely holding their dear aiko that had passed out during the ball back in Austria. He looked as if his death wielding hand had a mind of its own defying the will of the rest of the body. "I did not want aiko to see her angel in such a state so i bade her good night so that we could await your return like a good family." undertaker grinned.  
A cacophony of thoughts was racing through his mind; Questions, uncontrollable hate, anger, helplessness, and conviction. In no time at all he went with the strongest impulse; lunging at the elegant scythe as the undertaker's smile morphed into a surprised grimace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~

The demon crashed heavily into the coffin on the work table, smashing it to bits. The Undertaker laughed nervously beside him having only escaped the attack by a mere fraction of a nanosecond. The dark haired raven lashed out again and he threw Aiko none too gently into her coffin as he fled out of immediate range and slammed the lid on tight. The lid was too heavy for her to move so she began banging on it as hard as she could, obviously woken up by the sudden violent clatter. Both men heard it but were too busy with the other to consider comforting her. The Undertaker dodged another head on attack and a few tapers flung through the air towards him. the workshop was nearly full of a torrent of raven feathers. The retired shinigami's expression was slightly toward the worried side, fearful for his body but still enjoying whatever game he was playing at.

He laughed attempting to trip the raven with a coffin kicked across the dirt floor, a feat no human could achieve since it was full oak and completed. "Why are you so angry? Did I make you hate me? I did the same to Aiko and she doesn't hate me." he grinned. "In fact, I'm tempted to do it again with you looking like this, kit-" the silver haired man was cut off when the demon lunged at his scythe again and he had to scurry quickly out of the way. "Hoho~ not looking for a fight? What are you aiming at?" he teased.

The demon growled deep in his chest, defaulting back to his crouched position. "Kill me already, idiot. I have had enough of this filthy world and everyone in it!" his true form flared angrily in long tendrils of blackness, hungrily reaching out to the world. He made to throw himself at the Undertaker's weapon again using an oil lamp that had been sitting atop a coffin to distract him and the older man slammed him with the handle a bit harder than necessary.

The demon felt his back crash through the door and the bakery window across the street, clutching the lamp in hand having been taken by surprise before he could use it. He thudded into the oven heavily. The sound of the silver haired man's laughter was crossing the street. He pulled himself out of the oven and angrily cast the oil lamp aside where it cracked open on a discarded apron by the far wall. The small fire that started glinted off the smiling shinigami's hair as he climbed through the broken window. It amused the man to end when the raven threw himself at the scythe once again and met with the same result as before, sending him crashing into the back room. "Kitty, lets calm down a little." The Undertaker chuckled walking over to kick him while he got to his feet. He pushed the demon down and laid the handle across his chest while he straddled his hips. "We really must be going before they find you. It seems you can run in those little heels quite well but I do think we should give ourselves a head start" he leaned in to touch noses and dip in for a soft kiss only to chuckle when the demon ripped his lip open with his fangs. "besides, if they catch you, they will not kill you. I raise your chances of death by 20% whereas they are 0%. By staying here you are giving up all your hope of dying, are you okay with that?" he teased.

Instead of replying, the demon kicked him off and switched their places, trying to get to the sharp end. The shinigami laughed and shoved him away. A second later the demon crashed both of them through the far wall and took the fight up to the roof. The flame was quickly spreading through the wooden establishment when the elder laughingly ran across the roof tops to make the demon give chase. They fought on the opposite end of the city for hours before either one said anything more. "Why are you so intent on dying, kitty? A demon with a death wish is unheard of, what made you want to go away so badly?" the Undertaker asked when they finally pulled back for a minute.

The demon scoffed at him. "I have no intent to have a heart to heart with you. All you need to do is put me out of my misery." He said taking a deep breath, readying himself for another few hours of trying to get himself killed.

"Oh, so mean," he giggled. "I was only wondering. You seemed very fond of Aiko. I mean, you even eat and bake sweets for her. I'm pretty sure you also never picked up a violin before that time in the shop. A demon in general does not concern himself with a human's welfare like you do with her. You must be a very different demon from the notorious raven I have heard of in the past. You start plagues with the fleas on a single rat and then make afternoon tea with a little human child. How did you bring down the Mayans and act as the god of ancient warring tribes that you would devour one by one? And yet now you have even stopped eating on your little outings. You are some demon, kitty."

"I am not very hungry lately." He replied simply.

The Undertaker grinned. "so you are waiting to have Aiko all to yourself?" the demon glared at him and made to attack but was surprised when the shinigami shook his head. "If that is so, we need to go save her from the fire that is beginning to consume the street before it's too late."

The demon's eyes went wide for a second, debating frantically whether to leave the Undertaker in order to save her or stay and try to be killed so that he might add her onto his list of victims without tasting her. He turned and ran as fast as he could across the city, not hearing the undertaker's final words on the matter.

"not that you will want her when you figure it out."

By the time he arrived, the flames from the building matched the bloody sunrise. Aiko was trapped inside, whimpering in her coffin. The demon ran through the already crumbled door much to the surprise of many spectators convening on the street to watch the fire consuming the houses. A few members of the fire brigade tried to stop him when he ran out with the coughing child in his arms but he kept running until he was caught by the retired shinigami in a back alley. "Here, let's take our leave." He offered pulling him into the shadows. "I think it's time we visited the sun king, since last time you complained about not knowing German well enough."

MADAM RED: like I said, please, please review and give ideas! I love my little anons but I cant reply to them to gush my feelings with them!


	6. the butler, student

MADAM RED: this next installment has been uploaded in thanks to AloisTrancy and wazzapmoikay for reviewing and watching. Things are going to become very uncomfortable for our favorite demon butler! Grell was supposed to give a disclaimer today but he is still sulking after reading about his obsession's sex life… I only own Aiko. I don't own the king of France, real people in 1666 that are mentioned, Kuroshitsuji characters, or biblical demons depicted therein.

The raven haired demon stared out the carriage window with an inscrutible expression over his sharp pale features. He was worried about Aiko. When the Undertaker had tried to wake her up back at the stables a few hours ago, she coughed violently until she passed back out from asphyxiation. Both men had been flustered and secretly regretful at the sight. Now she was lain across the seat opposite them with a pillow and blanket from the owner of the coach. Her face was ashen and she had a fever that made her feel like a furnace in your arms. Her gentle eyes were also a puffy red that made her appear to cry every once in a while during her sick slumber. You did not have to be a doctor to know she was very sick and in quite a bit of pain. Despite all the inconceivable things they could accomplish between the two of them; neither knew any way to treat ailing humans. The only flesh they dealt in was in a sexual sense and obviously it would do naught but worsen the situation anyways. All they could do was clutch onto the letter of recognition from King Louis XIV as they clip clopped through the city of Paris out into the countryside to reach Versailles where there would be rich beds and a human doctor that COULD do something for her.  
The demon couldn't help but think himself powerless and responsible. If he had not been hell bent on cutting himself on that scythe of blissful release... He would begin that line of thought and become derailed with the still lingering desire every time. Then he would glance at the grinning wigged shinigami, whom was noticeably eyeing Aiko, and follow his gaze to the poor child and begin the cycle all over again. He was being painfully torn over his desire to die, and his cursed attachment to Aiko. He barely grasped this topic. It was always a matter of singular whims and lust for him. This indecisive and contradictory state of mind was completely foreign to him. That was why Aiko was on the other side of the coach instead of in his arms. He was too confused, too hapless to have her close to him at the moment. It would surely make the strange guilt, hate, and love well up stronger if he touched her right now. That was something even he, a demon, could not handle. He knew he was becoming soft and hated it.  
The country side whirled past as he returned his gaze to the window after going through the cycle again, completing and restarting it. Even here he was caught up in the monotonous way time passed. It would speed up and slow down, speed up and slow down, then stop for a moment, speed up again and then slow once more. Many unexpected things would happen, but the Undertaker had made spontaneity vulgar with his life threatening surprises. Little surprises that only emphasized how much he wanted to die, how he hated life in the human world, and how easy it was for the shinigami to befuddle his mind. If only he had not been hell bent on cutting himself on that scythe of blissful release...  
His round of thoughts was interrupted by a clear amused voice that never seemed to change with time. "We should be almost there, Aiko will be all right, kitty." he said pointedly looking at him going about his list of stares.  
"I am sure you are very concerned" he replied brusquely ignoring the fact that the retired man was, in fact, at least as concerned as he was. Neither of them showed it but it was silently understood that both feared for her life. They had no idea how severely humans reacted to smoke... Well, except for the fact that they could definitely die from it. This was the first time either one of them had considered saving a life. Not judging, or choosing whether to consume or not, but wanting to keep it alive for personal reasons.  
The man smiled softly and leaned over to kiss him, brushing aside a curl in his face from the wig he had returned to the demon. "Just stop fretting and calm down unless someone says she is going to die, which she is not. I should know she will not die from this."  
The demon did not respond. Now was not the time for him to be messing around. Aiko was right in front of them, sick and asleep. He felt long fingers thread through his brown wig to pull him in closer. The shinigami was stroking his face tenderly. The kiss was soft and unobtrusive for the moment, just letting them feel each other. He let his fingertips graze over the Undertaker's smooth and uninflected cheek. The demon had nearly forgotten how soft the man could be on occasion. The last several times of intimate action were violent and forced, but he had also been gentle once before in the Austrian bedroom. The other times had all been fast, messy, and harsh. His heart ached with the memory of the scissors piercing into it and twisting as he was raped.  
He pulled away quickly. "Don't tell me to calm down if i am not worried." he stated icily looking out the window once more. Off in the distance he could see the city fade into existence. They were almost there.  
The Undertaker chuckled. "As you say, kitty." he conceded with a flip of his creepily long nailed hand.  
It did not take long before they were rolling through the beautiful streets of Versailles and being admitted through the large gates to the ornate palace. Needless to say, the hunting lodge turned royal dwelling was grand indeed. Construction equipment was being removed off to the side and workers were busy clearing all evidence that they had been recently building. It would seem they arrived at a good time to see the new features Louis set up. Aiko would appreciate that if she ever got well. As if replying to his thoughts, the small Nepali girl cracked her eyes open as well as she could with the swelling. "Angel?" she croaked, her eyes searching wildly in a feverish haze.  
The slender man clutched her burning hand in his own cold ones worriedly, forgetting his reasons not to for the moment. "I am here, Aiko. The carriage is pulling up to a place where we can get a doctor. We will get help there, alright? How are you right now? Does it hurt?" he asked quickly. The coachman knew to call for a specialist immediately upon arrival, so the demon did not bother to move when the carriage came to a halt.  
"I am okay, Angel." she smiled weakly before her eyes turned confused "What happened? I was dancing and then daddy came up behind me and-" the girl started to gush when the funeral director cut her off with a silencing look.  
He smiled hugely and wagged his finger when the other man turned to see what had made Aiko stop. "You really should not make our child talk when it clearly pains her to do so. I know that she needs all her strength to recover, not placate your motherly instincts." he said giggling when the demon glared at him angrily.  
Before he could so much as lash out for the impertinent comment, the door was opened to two men in fine silken clothing. "Sieurs, i am the doctor. If you would please let us take the Madame into the palace to find a room, i would be honoured to take a look at her." the first one said with a small bow.  
The formal guised demon picked her up and easily stepped out of the carriage without the proffered helping hand. The Undertaker dropped down beside him a second later to shake hands with the two Frenchmen. He did not speak anything other than English and choice Austrian words, so he had not caught but the titles used to address them and Aiko. He did, though, understand that a third man carting a strange metal contraption wanted the demon to hand her over, which the raven stubbornly refused. The Undertaker put a comforting hand on his shoulder-well, it looked comforting on the surface, but in reality he was pressing down to indicate his order. After a moment of hesitation he finally gave in and set her in the wheeled chair.  
The doctor nodded sympathetically and turned to leave as Aiko was wheeled away by the assistant. Finally, the one who had come with the doctor spoke up. "We will take care of her, do not worry. But i must now accompany you to pay your respects to the King before i can take you to your rooms. You will then be notified when the Madame is ready to be seen." the demon steeled his will and plastered a pleasant small smile on his face as they were lead into the palace. He did not care for being told when he could see her. Stupid humans assuming they had any authority whatsoever to debar him from his child. He fought the urge to grimace as they were escorted into the large and capriciously decorated throne room.  
There, sitting on a common sized velvet cushioned chair between two large golden candelabras, was the dark wigged Roi Soliel himself. His face was rather plump and aristocratically arrogant looking and the outfit was very flamboyant for a man. He wore tights that exemplified his dancer's legs under a preponderance of rich cloth and skirts all topped with a wig that was shaped almost like an M. Both immortal guests bowed deeply in the french fashion as they were once again introduced as sieurs Fête and Éclair, back from a visit to Austria.  
"You went to Schönbrunn? What arts do you partake in?" the King asked interestedly. As expected, they had not even been questioned on their titles.  
The demon stepped forward to answer the man in fluent french. "I played the violin with Franz Biber and for the late Austrian Emperor's widow on a few public occasions. I participated skillfully also on the fields of architecture, poetry, and fencing with the long sword. My daughter, Aiko, took violin lessons along with her already impressive show with the Palace cooks. She is also quite the dancer at parties." he informed formally with a touch of pride when he touched on Aiko's little achievements.  
His head bobbed slowly as if he was disinterested, but his eyes belied the fact that the king was very pleased to have such artisans visiting. "And the man with you, what does he do?" he asked after a short pause.  
The raven's eye was attracted by a flicker of movement. His eyes locked with a midnight set for the briefest of glimpses before it was gone and he had to bring his attention back to the Frenchman. He could have sworn he recognized that gaze. "Sieur Fête is a skilled carver and carpenter. A man who can create beautiful almost lifelike reliefs from his bare hands." he said simply but equally bombastic for the sake of appearing grand. He knew Aiko would be more readily accepted if she had talented company. Maybe then they would teach her many things she wished to learn. Perhaps someone could take her... Even as he thought of leaving her with the fear of her dying, he dismissed the notion. He knew that he was inevitably drawn to her. That child would be his one day.  
The dark wigged King shifted in his red velvet and gold seat. "Then i welcome you three to my Palace. I have but one request, as well, if you would grant it." he said pulling back some the thick expensive skirts up his thigh. "When the Madame is better, would you have her join my Danse Academé? If she is a good dancer i would be greatly pleased to see my troupe grow." he requested.  
He nodded his annoyingly curly wigged head. "If that is what the majesty pleases, then i shall ask her upon her regain of health. We are honoured to have you accept us and offer our child a wonderful opportunity to learn and be graced with your presence." the demon said with false appreciation.  
It seemed to please the king none the less seeing as how a small smile graced his stiff lips. "I also believe that you, sieur Éclair, would be greatly pleased to meet with my friend, sieur Jean-Baptiste Lully. He is an incredibly skilled musician, dancer, and violinist." a dark wigged Italian bowed graciously to the left of the throne's high platform. "Beyond that, i am sure you will have no trouble catching the architects and artists that have just finished refurnishing my Palace. Please, relax and tour the halls for now, Lully will accompany you two to your rooms as well as show you around. Tell me what you think of it over supper night." he smiled holding out a hand to gesture Jean-Baptiste after them.  
With one final bow, all three men left the throne room without any further words from either party. Annoyingly, right off the bat, the demon noticed the Italian's eyes scanning over his body through his short lashes. Lully was definitely failing if he was trying to be coy about stripping him with his eyes. "This is the front foyer. The murals on the ceiling were freshly painted recently, as the reliefs on the fireplace have only been carved these last few months. As you nodoubt already know; this was the King's hunting Palace before he decided to make it his new home. So many things here are very new, with the exceptions of the foundation its self. The muralist-" he began with a hardly noticeable accent in his french as he led the two guests around the various buildings.  
Many were just highly decorated; murals on ceilings, reliefs on the wall and arches, large portraits scattered about the rooms of him and his ancestors. The demon found the style interesting enough in its human glory, but he was not fond of the plump and pompous nobles depicted therein.  
The two rooms he genuinely took a pleasured interest in was the hall of mirrors and one of the reception rooms. The grand hall lined with shiny panes of cold glass that reflected your image back to you in the glowing midday light from the opposite windows simply amazed him. The rays bounced off the chandeliers and almost made him feel like he was in heaven. If it were possible for a demon to go to heaven, that is. It certainly did have a warm enveloping light though. The second floor reception room he adored was the simplest one; just rudimentary gold accents and a large oval portrait he had not recognized the subject of.  
"-now then, would you do me the favour of joining me this evening to exhibit our skills on the violin? I must admit, i am very curious to find out many interesting talents you have." he said stopping in front of a gold accented door in the guest wing. The demon simply smiled feeling angry thoughts pierce into him from behind.  
"Of course, after supper and visiting our daughter i would be glad to join you for a friendly bit of competition." he smiled opening the door for the secretively sulking Undertaker to go on inside.  
The musician smiled hugely with his slightly pudgy cheeks and pointed nose. "Thank you, i will await your arrival in the gardens after supper." he said turning to take his leave, presumably by the King's side.  
As soon as the door was shut behind him he let out a sigh. "At least we know Aiko will like it here." he said softly in the direction of the other man sprawled out on the short bed. The raven sauntered over and sat on the edge of the bed next to him.  
The retired man groaned melodramatically. "i wonder where they put Aiko..." he mused tracing a finger down the demon's back causing a small shiver. "Hoho~ somebody is very tense" he giggled sitting up to wrap his arms around the other man's waist.  
The demon Hissed lowly at the touch. "Do not put those filthy hands on my person." he attempted to pry off the pale hands before he remembered the Undertaker was much stronger than him. Soft white lips trailed down his exposed jaw where his curly wig had been torn off a moment ago. "Let go of me, idiot, we need to find Aiko. Stop dallying around and playing games." he growled a bit louder this time.  
With a short derisive chuckle the shinigami let him out of his hold. "Then let's go on a little walk. Care to take a bet? Whoever finds her first gets an IOU from the other. Agreed?" he sniggered fixing the demon's wig back into place.  
"agreed." he accepted quickly wanting to get on with the search for her.  
The moment he spoke, the shinigami bounded out of bed and into the shadows, not giving the demon any semblance of warning that the game had begun. As not to waste any more time, he sprinted out to the hall at top speed. No mortal eye could catch him so he did not have to worry. His senses were fixed on locating her 100% at the moment. She was close...  
"Little child" a familiar silky voice called through his thoughts.  
The demon stopped and caught a flash of dark gleaming eyes before the apparition appeared. This time he knew better. It seemed an old friend or two are residing here. Why had they not revealed themselves?  
His thoughts snapped back to the task on hand. He could not let the Undertaker win this. Who knows what that pervert would have him do if he won. The raven raced towards the door he had been heading for and threw it open... To the sight of the Undertaker patting her little hand. Neither of them said a word since the shinigami's smirk already claimed clean cut victory. Instead, the demon watched her sleeping face. A gold handled window had been opened to give her fresh air and many blankets covered her small frame. She did not feel hot but mildy warm now, so he assumed that was good. Her face was less ashy if not a little ruddy from the fire. Her breathing was a tad smoother as well. Maybe the humans could take better care of her than they could, the demon thought duly. They both sat there watching Aiko sleep peacefully until the doctor's voice roused them to slip out through the shadows.  
Once back in their designated room, the Undertaker smiled hugely. "I won, kitty! You should not have underestimated me." he grinned jovially.  
He held back a snort. It had not been anything of the sort. "I was merely distracted on my way over." he replied flatly.  
"Excuses, excuses, you owe me one." he chuckled happily poking the demon on the tip of his nose.  
The raven rolled his eyes and turned his head to the other side to deny him the satisfaction of seeing his face. That man from his past that distracted him would get an earful when he showed up again. If the brief glimpses registered correctly in his memory, this was going to be a very complicated stay. "Do not let your head grow too large. It does not matter." he scoffed moving away to peek out the curtains.  
The shinigami came up to wrap his arms around the younger man's waist tightly so that he could nuzzle his pale neck. "You know, i don't think this is just the usual paranoia of me or Aiko. There is something else bothering you..." he trailed off when the demon tensed the tiniest bit. "Is it something you should tell me? I know i am your favorite, so you don't have to keep secrets from me."  
The raven stood silently for a moment. "I thought you were the expert on my past but it seems you only know what i destroyed. Such a pittance of all i have done." he mused in a light reverie. Hopefully they showed themselves soon so he could get those two away from Aiko and Undertaker.  
A small chuckle reverberated against the joint between his shoulder and neck as he kissed i softly. "I cannot know everything, kitty." he smiled letting him walk out of the embrace. This was why he did not like to live on earth, he grumbled inwardly as his thoughts went over worst case scenarios.  
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*  
Surprisingly, the two figures that were always in his periphery vision did not confront him. It was nerve wracking when Aiko was restored to health a week after their arrival. She still had a cough and a faraway look in her eyes that bothered the two men. Her cheerful demeanor seemed to have dampened during her illness. She just was not the same loving and happy child they had known. Perhaps it was mostly their fault for putting her through so much. Their little girl could not handle their violent relationship.  
To offset her growing introverted mood, the demon took her to the gardens every evening to practice the violin with Lully, Guided her to the kitchen during the preparation of supper, and accompanied her to the King's Royale Danse Academe. The Undertaker would frequently take over watching Aiko during class in case her coughing became fatal from the exertion. That usually left the demon scrambling to find contests hosted around the Palace to occupy himself with until she was done. He won everything he participated in; saber fencing, painting, puzzles, races, arguments with the architects, and acting. Nothing was off limits to his boredom. Often times, he would return to the dance session to watch Aiko's practice in secret. He learned dances as she did and still waited patiently at the end of practice as if he had just arrived. She would return to their room to take a bath before being escorted to meals with the other guests and residents of the Royal Palace. Few words passed her lips.  
This went on for a few weeks until one afternoon, while the demon and shinigami waited for her together, one of the men finally saw fit to reveal himself.  
The demon immediately stood and nodded his head before the unnamed man embraced him lightly but warmly. "Ah, child, you are still quite the handsome fiend, i see." the silky dark haired man smiled as he held the raven out at arm's length.  
His face was softly glowing with eternal youth and small stress lines pulled down the corners of his pink lips. "I almost believed you did not wish to talk to me. It has been a long time." the raven replied hiding his dread for this encounter.  
The attractive friend of the raven chuckled silkily. "You know how HE is; he is not even free for his best child. Though, admittedly, i was thrown off for a while with that human guise. Very clever use of sheep skin." he patted the wigged raven on his angular cheek affectionately, almost proudly.  
The ostracized Undertaker's mouth hung agape for the duration of the conversation. "Who exactly are you?" he questioned the stranger with quelled jealousy.  
The naturally short wavy haired man ignored him as if he did not exist in his world, but kept his attention on the raven. "So Asmodeous is the other one with you, Lucifer? I assumed as much fro-" he was cut off as slender hands wrapped around him from behind to stroke his heavily costumed chest.  
"Have you missed me, child?" the flared blonde Asmodeus smiled slyly beside the raven's face. His child leaned back to greet him with a deep kiss as Lucifer tapped his foot to regain attention.  
The shinigami awkwardly and jealously watched in silence. Three demons- no, two Princes of Hell and a favoured demon- were standing there ignoring him. The raven seemed uninflected about all of the closeness and touching from those two, but not from the Undertaker. "Kitty, are you going to tell me who these people are?" he cut in before their conversation could pick back up.  
Lucifer did not turn his head towards the voice with the other two. After a moment's consideration where Asmodeus bore holes into the pariah's head, he resumed the earlier conversation. "So why is it that you have come here? I was surprised to see you amongst the courtroom with the french nobles." he asked.  
It was not noticed when Asmodeus' arms left his waist and disappeared with the Undertaker with a stifled giggle. "I was originally following your sovereign, but this caught my eye and i made him settle down here to go about his business. We have found the Palace to be very accommodating for two beings as we are... I would say you would already know the abundance of villagers available, but i can tell you have not consumed anything in over a month. Even though you are of another element, you still are partially my child. I can even go as far as to say that you are drifting from your origins." he said darting his eyes in the direction the Undertaker had been a moment ago. "Is that true?"  
The demon sighed; this was why he did not want to see them again. His masters that sculpted him and praised his perfection would not be happy to hear what he had made of their creation. A demon bonded with a human child and... Involved... With a shinigami, the annoyance of the demon world, is not to be taken lightly. "The opposite is being strived for, in all honesty. I wanted to return home and ended up getting tangled in things i did not realize until i had crossed the bridge. Things have become a little unclear lately, so i have unknowingly crossed many hidden bridges." he explained vaguely as the studio doors swung open and let out the young students. "Aiko!"  
The twelve year old took her place next to the demon and studied the new man's face quietly. "Angel, who is he?" she asked softly.  
The raven smiled nervously. "Aiko, this is my old friend and tutor, Lucifer. Lucifer, this is Aiko, my child." he introduced tentatively, watching his expression for any sign of rage or offense.  
Instead, the fair featured Prince raised a brow at him "we will be discussing this later, after you tell me the undoubtedly interesting story." he stated firmly but without malice.  
Maybe Lucifer would not be mad. Asmodeus would not care, but Lucifer was not one to forgive blasphemy against the angels, even if it was harmless and committed by his favoured child. Even if Asmodeus used his claim of ownership to spare the raven; Aiko would receive no mercy.  
Lucifer walked back with them to their room as the two adults shared a bit of casual banter. Aiko tugged on his sleeve gently to have the fallen star look down at her. "Are you an angel too?" she asked simply.  
Life was going to be very difficult from now on, the raven thought as Lucifer briskly left their company lest he show his nostalgic anger to the human. Aiko stood fixed on the spot with a confused expression across her features.  
The raven prodded her through the door. "Do not worry about him; he does not like people talking about him. It's nothing you did intentionally wrong, Aiko." he comforted half-heartedly.  
The moment the door closed, Asmodeus was pressed up against him tightly with one hand pushing Aiko further into the back bedroom where Undertaker was drinking tea. "You, dear child of mine, are in very deep trouble if Lucy gets the whole story. Raising a human child to call you angel, sharing your inherit ant skills with a retired management class shinigami, and not feeding... You might be getting too soft for flesh." his master laughed. "But you are still the best child i have taught, and i find this very amusing, so i will not tell him before you deem to. Be careful, i do not want to go against that Prince to get your severed head back."  
He pressed his lips to his child's and shared a silent tonguing tango to reaffirm that his promise was valid. When Asmodeus pulled away and moved to leave through the door, he looked back for a brief serious moment. "You also might want to educate that shinigami of yours in his demonology. I cannot believe his race is so stupid as to call Lucifer by the name Satan." he rolled his eyes as if it was the stupidest move in the world (which it could be, if said before one or the other) and shut the door behind him.


	7. the butler, a son?

Opid

"i suggest you take your hands off me"  
"you do not mind when Asmodeus touches you like this" the undertaker countered with a jealous edge to his tone. "I cannot believe you actually kissed him more than once!" he muttered pressing the demon against the expensive wall behind the first set of doors leading to their room. İf one side opened, Aiko would see them. The other, any number of strangers would have them convicted of sodomy and crimes against the church.  
The demon growled quietly in the back of his throat. Did Undertaker believe that sexually assaulting him would do any good? The knee in-between his legs that pressed up against his groin was becoming almost as much of a nuisance as its owner. "Why should you be informed of my activities? You are a completely different matter than him." he shot back irately. As soon as Asmodeus left, he had shut the doors around them and shoved him against a wall. Why had those two been together so casually anyways? The Undertaker had even removed his wig and over coat.  
The shinigami only pressed closer with a look of extreme constitution. He was not planning on letting this matter go, he sighed inwardly. "So you prefer your father as a lover over me?" the silver haired man asked.  
The raven blanched for a moment at that statement, a look of surprise and confusion crossing his features. "My... Father?" he repeated slowly.  
Taking a step back, his determined expression lost for the moment, he restated his earlier question with less conviction. "He... Isn't your father? But they called you his child." he seemed to be really confused that his assumption had been wrong. The customary grin he usually wore was replaced with an uncertain grimace. His hands even loosened their grip on the demon's clothes.  
Unable to quell his desire to call the man out on his presumptuous idiocy, the raven haired man looked at him with a furrowed brow as if he were something quite distasteful. "Asmodeus did not sire me and i am certainly not your lover. İt makes me wonder what goes on in that head to give you ideas like that." he spat condescendingly. The grip on his lapels was tightened once more in anger as the shinigami fought not to show his error in his face.  
"Then who is he to touch you like that?" he asked tightly.  
A smirk crossed the demon's lips as he still showed obvious disgust over the misunderstanding. Now his father, oh his dear father would not be easy to deal with as his master. The shinigami was right that he was a second generation, meaning his sire was an original Prince, but he had the wrong one. That man would be far worse than even Lucifer if wrath were to befall him for the blasphemy he was committing. He wondered if the shinigami had paused to consider what the possible repercussions were when he started all this. The demon certainly had not expected nor wanted it to turn out this way. "Are we a little jealous?" the demon prodded. The older man remained silent so he continued on in a very even voice, as if he were speaking to an idiot. "If you value our lives, you will stop searching for answers." he warned.  
Undertaker's jaw visibly tightened before a huge cruel grin split his face. Before the demon could resist, his tight velvet breeches were pulled down and a warm mouth engulfed his length. İt did not take long for the experienced man to get the demon up and lightly panting despite his futile struggles to make him stop. Pulling at the moonstruck locks did nothing to distract him from his hell-bent task. A slick tongue ran up and down the underside of his shaft swiftly as he bobbed his head in frenzy. His hurried and harsh motions suggested he wanted the demon to release quickly. A shameful punishment perhaps? Or just trying to assert his upper hand in the matter?  
Neither seemed to matter when the doors to the room opened and Aiko stood there looking at her pristinely dressed guardians. To her it looked like she had interrupted a casual conversation between the two. Her lifeless eyes seemed to find no interest in the situation. "Angel, it is almost time to join Baptiste in the gardens to play the violin. He said he would be practicing the new ballet with the King after supper so we would have to have our meeting earlier." she reported.  
The wigged man smiled. "Of course, Aiko. Let me help you get properly dressed in fresh clothes and we will be on our way." he smiled chauffeuring her back into the bedroom to change out her sweaty dance dress for a new one.  
He secretly admired his progress with pinning down fashions lately. Her vast wardrobe seemed to stun the nobles and courtiers every day. The intricately sewn in rubies and diamonds patterning her petticoat and flawless abundant flow of her red silk skirts, coupled with her natural beauty and poise, radiated wealth and a strong attraction. The young woman- was she really turning thirteen this year? - was an enigma to all who met her. Clasping the overdress belt at her waist he looked up into her dull eyes that would not make contact with his. They had certainly raised an enigma. Cold, beautiful, and irresistible, he thought with the faintest touch of bitterness. He pushed it from his mind for the moment. "Are you ready, Aiko?" he asked gently touching her small delicate hands. She nodded without tearing her gaze away from the large mirror in the door of the mahogany wardrobe. He envied that rich glass with all his black heart. "Then take up your violin and we shall make our way to the gardens" he spoke with an affectionate smile watching her slowly turn to do as bidden. Perfectly obedient and so distant from him.  
As they took their leave of the room, instruments in hand, the Undertaker stopped him for a brief moment and simply stared into his eyes. The demon wished he could see the windows to that man's soul that remained hidden one way or another at all times. Would he then get a glimpse into the motives behind this game he played? "Have a wonderful time, daughter." he released him from the moment with those dismissive words. The demon almost wondered if it was for better or worse that he did not know what the other man was thinking, idiotic or not.  
His thoughts remained uninterrupted on the walk through the palace to meet the middle-aged Italian. This little thing the shinigami insisted on playing was getting very dangerous. Undertaker could probably return to his people if things went sour but the demon and Aiko had no such place of sanctuary. If it were possible Undertaker could take her to his realm and hide her there. He seemed to /love/ her enough to do that. The demon had no qualms with him giving their child shelter from the possible bad outcomes of discovery. But he would have no place to go. He would no longer be able to return home and would be hunted on earth. The rest of eternity would become an endless effort to escape from everything, with no destination at the end of the line. He could not let that happen. It should-  
The musician's smile cut through to him as he remembered to don his own. "Éclair, lady Aiko, i hope you forgive me if you had to change around your plans to meet with me earlier." he greeting nodding his head to each in turn.  
Aiko gave him a nigh regal smile as he kissed her hand. The demon wondered where she had learned to act so lofty and cool. He had always been around and only now this new person was surfacing. "We would not regret it even if it were so, Baptiste." the demon said formally, though seeing the Italian was not the greatest thing to do at the moment. Especially since he was extremely hard and he knew the man was attracted to him.  
Lully's eyes flickered over his body quickly and smirked slightly when he saw the painfully obvious problem the other man was facing at the moment. "I am sure" he drawled knowingly. The raven fought not to twitch or let his perfect demeanor slip at the recognition. If the human didn't follow his every little move and undress him with his eyes he could have gone on with the day unnoticed until it went away. Fate was never on his side. "Shall we get started?" he asked innocently trying to get on with it.  
"Of course~" the Italian smiled lifting his two penny up and striking a few successive notes. Aiko and the demon played it back perfectly, like an echo. The next section was longer and andante. Their volley was exact. The men were both locked in a battle of perfection that Aiko labored to match. Lully was visibly burning a hole through the demon's calm façade. Neither willing to admit defeat until one wrong note was struck. It was not screeching or awful, just slurred from the rush and not correct.  
Aiko blushed lightly as the men broke their contest to look at her. "Désolé, can we repeat that last one?" she asked embarrassed that she had been unable to keep up.  
The other man spared a final glance at the raven before turning to the young woman to replay the section they had just done at a smidgen slower pace. "of course, Mon Cherie"  
Taking the chance to break into the musical session, the blonde Prince wrapped his arms quickly around his child and kissed him fleetingly before taking up a normal stance next to him, watching the Nepali girl listen intently to the melody. "Did you have a problem when i left? It seems you are a little eager for something." Asmodeus jibed with an amused grin.  
The demon eyed him with a look that proclaimed the blame was all his. "It seems he was not pleased with the private conversations exchanged earlier. Apparently he thought you were my father and questioned my incestuous acts of intimacy with you." the older man grinned. "I am hoping you did not put ideas into his possessive little head." he accused lightly.  
The lustful demon shook his head in bewilderment. "No, he was the one spilling secrets, not me. I might have riled him a bit though... I should almost expect as much from someone so ignorant. It's a shame the shinigami are so professional yet completely take their vast library for granted." he said softly. Suddenly a huge grin crossed his sharp features. "Congratulations on that, by the way."  
He rolled his eyes at his master. "It was enlightening to say the least." he confided as his girl played the violin for the Italian. They both listened silently for a while.  
"He's doing well, in case you were wondering" the blonde said eventually whilst watching the strange girl his student was rising.  
The demon let out a long breath. "I was not, but he is on my mind as of lately." he confessed with a light tone despite his abhorrence on the topic of his father. When was he ever really doing badly?  
"Thinking of how many pieces he is going to slice you into? Whether it will take weeks or years before he lets you pass out the first time?" he stated as if was a humorous exaggeration, which was completely false.  
A wigged head nodded slightly to confirm his statement. "And whether she will have time to escape when it happens."  
The two fell into a heavy silence again but looked to the entire world like two friends admiring the beautiful music floating through the gardens. Aiko had managed to lull Baptiste into letting her try the song by herself so he could appraise her work. Though the Italian tried to be inconspicuous, his interest in the demons' conversation was noticed. A small chuckle escaped Asmodeus's lips as he turned to smile at his troubled child. "the was i see it, you need to accomplish two things: breaking it to Lucy gently so he will support you and getting your problem taken care of. I suggest you see to the Italian Francophile for that and start letting out your little story bit by bit when you see Lucifer." the blonde advised with an upbeat tone. The raven raised an eyebrow at the latter bit of advice as if his master wanted the world to spin further off its axis. He laughed. "Don't look at me like that, the boy is very good at it."  
"I really don't think this is the time for that" the raven countered.  
The master gave him a slightly stern look at his unwillingness. "You are a lust demon, not an incubus. If not him then find someone else to exercise your nature on. Do not fail me when i am trying to help." he chastised. So even his master noticed he was going all wrong.  
He bowed his head a degree in submission to his master's will. "Will you-?" he started when Asmodeus nodded understanding. He turned to his fellow violinists once more as they both looked up from their task. "Aiko, this is Asmodeus, a friend of mine. He asked to invite us to have supper and tea with him and Lucifer. I need to get daddy, would you mind going with him before us so we will not appear too rude?" he asked the young woman who had the slightest of pouts playing on her plump lower lip.  
She batted her eyelashes and bowed slightly to her angel's blonde companion. "Of course. Baptiste" she bid him adieu with a chaste kiss on the cheek and followed Asmodeus when he beckoned to her to follow.  
The Italian man smiled a bit sadly and shoved his violin back in its little holster he always wore. It was a simple leather strap worn over across his chest so that his instrument of choice was always easily accessible. "Well, it seems as if we have to end our time together, do we not?"  
The demon shook his head, a soft inviting smile playing on his lips as he tilted his chin to the side. "I would actually like to have a few... Words with you first" The other man was instantly hooked. The raven's eyes smoldered a deep red as he led them deeper into the gardens away from prying eyes.  
When they were finally in a place of relative seclusion, he pushed the human down on his knees and placed their lips together. He was teasing and heated, causing the other man to moan a little from the friction. Almost as if he was used to the drill, Lully pulled away and gently pulled down the demon's breeches. A hot cavern enveloped him with slow, sure movements of his tongue. As his head bobbed at a leisurely pace he ran his tongue over the tip, sensuously dipping in. His fingers were massaging his balls expertly. The demon actually almost moaned if not for the fact that they were in an open area. Instead, he carded his fingers through Baptiste's long curls and hung tight as his orgasm approached. It was so close..!  
Suddenly his fingers were caressing long strands of silver as he came hard into the other man's waiting mouth. The pink lips he pulled up to kiss deeply and taste himself on were pale and soft. He put everything into that kiss but when he opened his eyes all he saw was the human who had just sucked him off. The kiss broke and he pulled himself back into order as the musician tried to gather his senses again. The poor man must have finally understood that he had gotten into the mysterious demon's pants because his clouded eyes cleared away with his smug grin. "Perhaps we can do more next time?" he suggested as the raven picked up his violin from where he had dropped it at some point.  
"Perhaps, you were as good as Asmodeus said. But, for now, i must go join my companions." he said non comittally.  
The Italian did not follow him when he left. He was rather grateful he did not have to make it clear he held no obligations. Unlike how he had to do with certain people, he thought. Wait. Had he really thought of- no, it was nothing.  
The shinigami he was trying to dispel from his mind was waiting for him by the fountain as if summoned from the demon's thoughts. "You are late for retrieving me to go to the little tea party with your 'friends'" he stated flatly despite the customary smile he had on.  
The demon smirked at him. "Perhaps i was not going to invite you. You are being mighty presumptuous today." he said straightening his wig and marching right on by.  
"I am not stupid" defended the retired man as he took up pace behind him until they reached the shadows of the arch. There he placed a hand on the raven's shoulder and brought them right outside their destination on the other end of the palace. "You are welcome, by the way."  
He scoffed at the comment. "I could have easily handled it if i was in a rush to get here." the demon coolly said opening the doors without warning to leave the shutting to the other man.  
Inside, two Princes and a human girl sat around a rather large table in a front parlor sort of room. If there were front parlors in a guest room, that is. Pre-meal tea had already been served and it appeared that they had been waiting for their arrival. "Ah, finally decided to join us, child. Éclair is it now?" despite his disapproving wording, Lucifer looked rather happy to see them. Almost relaxed, a strange thing for the constantly worrying man. The raven found he was glad to see him this way.  
The blonde winked at him. "Don't worry; you are only three minutes late. Come sit down already!" he chuckled gesturing to two open seats next to each other.  
They both sat down- the raven after greeting his two elders with a kiss and the shinigami after jealously gawking at them and the fact that Aiko was between the Princes. A blind human could tell he was not thrilled about dinner together with them. "Forgive us for the delay." he apologized veneerly with a little smile. Neither had really ever been bothered by time anyways. "Have you acquainted yourselves with my daughter very well?" the raven asked removing his wig and outer coat.  
The wavy haired man shook his head. "Not well, no. He kept talking to her about trivial matters. I am afraid i have not been able to get a word in edgewise." he smiled at his shrugging friend. Nothing had slipped, yet.  
He chuckled, running a hand through his hair as Aiko seemed to suddenly find the hem of her dress interesting. "That will have to be remedied over dinner then. It is nice to be reunited with you once more after all these years."  
The other two demons laughed in agreement. Lucifer raised his wine glass in a toast. "To our glorious history"  
Everyone raised their glasses in tandem. "And hope for a long glorious future" Asmodeus added, much to the raven's unease. Lucifer raised a dark eyebrow at the tag but said nothing as he downed the first glass and poured another. "Let us celebrate like Fruitimiere, eh?"  
"i do not think that much exuberance is necessary, though we will have our own good time." Lucifer laughed taking a bite of his food.  
Dinner passed rather smoothly. Undertaker's activities consisted of brewing and prying into cryptic conversations between the demons. To Lucifer, he could have been an insignificant fly in the room, he was adamant about not recognizing his existence. However, Asmodeus would allude to various things in such a lofty manner that simply left the man even more at a loss. Aiko mostly stayed quiet and small talked. He had to wonder briefly if she was sick or just uncomfortable with the strangers her guardian seemed to know well. Was she unused to being surrounded by two men she didn't know on either side? But, then again, she had not had a problem in Austria. It seemed that it was just in Versailles...  
Upon finishing what was probably a bit too much (there had been plenty of stolen bottles from some royal cellar, each demon had consumed one or two each and Undertaker was almost done with his first.) he smiled and realized it was getting late. Aiko would need to have her bath drawn, hair brushed, and tucked away to bed. Thinking on it, he had not actually tucked her into bed since London. He would do so tonight, he promised himself. "I see, thank you for sharing the night with us, child. Good night to you three." Asmodeus smiled when he mentioned the lateness.  
The demons exchanged parting kisses with the raven, the blonde being more passionate in his embrace than Lucifer's uptight one. Aiko was bid good night gently by both men with a kiss of the cheek that she took graciously. Then, as Lucifer imparted an extra wine casket to the raven, ignoring the shinigami completely, Asmodeus made to kiss the coffin maker as well. It almost brought an extra ounce of genuinity to his smile when the silver haired man refused blatantly. The initially confused demon merely laughed and leaned over to secretively whisper something in his ear that caused a mischievous grin to cross their features. What it could be, he wondered setting the stupid wig atop his head once more.  
Their way back to their rooms was slower than their trip up with Aiko. She had never seen their powers as of yet and, hopefully, never would, so they walked as mundanes with her. It was always nice to simply walk. No running at the speed of sound or transporting through rifts in the shadows. Though, when Aiko turned a corner, the demon raced to draw her bath so that it would be ready when they arrived. His absence went unnoticed by both parties when he returned in time to catch Aiko's glance back for the key as they approached their room. He gave it up easily to allow her the honour.  
She immediately threw the key to the side and went to the private bath room up towards the front left side. Undertaker glanced between the flask and the sound of sloshing water as the demon followed her to wash her hair. He shook his head in awe at the fact he had not noticed when the man left to do all this. The demon was still fast when he should be veritable drunk on fine wine. He waited patiently for Aiko to retire to her separate bed room before stripping down and heading into the wash room with the flask.  
Inside, the demon was undressing and removing his extensive accessories. He did not seem to mind when hands drew across his body and climbed into the tub with him. Undertaker shared the wine with him and chuckled at the slightly cloudy look that revealed how drunk he really was. "Let me wash you, kitty" he said. The dark haired Adonis handed over the soap for the flask and let those long fingers roam over him softly and gently.  
The demon sunk lower into the water, leaning heavily on the pale man's strong chest for support. The flask was already empty and floating about the dirtied soapy water. As they melded together in the warm water it happened to allow them temporary amnesia, or madness. Hands explored rather than really cleaning. Eventually lips collided in clumsy drunken movements. It could have been the wine but their insides were warm and they were content to forget the world. Forget themselves in their embrace. Forget why they were angry.  
Slowly, hips started grinding, sending little falls of water over the side of the basin. The delicious electric current ran through them. As it went they could only let out the soft groans in the building pleasure. It was beyond mind blowing when they both climaxed. Neither one on top or bottom; just moving together as intimately as possible. They even floated together in the half full tub for a few minutes afterwards.  
Undertaker, as the less intoxicated one, was the first to pull them both up out of the cool water. Toweling each other off they went to lay in bed naked. The shinigami curled around the demon pressed against his chest quietly and rubbed his nose in the damp black hair.  
"You know, you were my first, kitty." Undertaker whispered through a yawn. His eyes dropped closed minutes later as a drunk and confused demon ly awake.  
His eyes remained open until the early hours of morning, just before dawn. The alcohol was cleared from his system now and the events of the previous night ran through his mind. Suddenly furious with himself and irritated with the shinigami, he detangled himself from the older man.  
Trudging to the wash room, he found the floor- and his clothes- soaked from the water that sloshed out last night. With a sigh and an angry glare towards the idiot responsible, he began cleaning with a certain level of speed. He set out Aiko's clothes on her bedside table. He was going to wake up alone, the raven promised himself with a last glance at the sleeping nude figure.  
He tightened his blue sash and walked out of the door. 'You were my first' ... What had he meant by that? Surely not-  
No, it did not matter. The demon cared nothing for the sick man that was steadily making his life worse. At least that's what he told himself as he met up with the morning chefs and helped prepare breakfast. He cared nothing, nothing at all.


	8. an Angel glimpsed

Opid

It had been a week and a half since their dinner party with the two Prince Demons, Aiko, and Undertaker. An affair that seemed to mark the beginning of a new period in time for them. Now the raven sat again in his masters' room during Aiko's extended rehearsal. She would be in dance for the rest of the afternoon and receive a late dinner in the kitchen with the others. He was rather proud of her performances in rehearsal so far and was glad she showed a little passion for it.  
Small French sweets littered the table around them that remained untouched. "How was Schönbrunn? I have not been since the Emperor initially built it, and it was only a hunting lodge then." Lucifer asked as he idly sipped the strong brewed Indian tea the youngest demon had made.  
Asmodeus smiled at his own cup as he watched the young raven formulate his words. "Considerably pleasant. I was forced to do the speaking even though the German i knew was a few hundred years vintage and very different from the Austrian they spoke. Aiko and i learned the violin with Franz Biber and i was dragged into a couple other things such as fencing, poetry, and architecture. Of course i exceled in these fields over the humans." he smiled softly taking a sip of his tea.  
The blonde raised his cup to gesture towards him and drink. "It seems you have also become quite adept in the kitchen as well." Asmodeus snickered with a smirk.  
"Well, you would be the one to know i have always been good with making things." he replied implying many things with his arched brow.  
His master laughed and set his cup down in order to reach over and pull his long lost child over by the collar of the raven's silk under shirt. "I do know, i taught you, my child. I merely meant to imply improvement in the culinary arts rather than that of the body" Asmodeus grinned and kissed him open mouthed, which the lower ranked demon easily complied with. Moments passed before they parted with a boisterous rumble of laughter. "But im not sure which tastes better!" Asmodeus smiled smoothing the dark haired man's hair back into order. The raven was only wearing a white silk under shirt and black breeches- his cravat, coat, shoes, and wig were unnecessary when he was in their company so he had them in the closet at the time. Yet he was the most dressed there. Asmodeus only wore a pair of peasant slacks and Lucifer had a red velvet robe that covered his muscular build but for his chest and lower legs. Supposedly the two had not really bothered to get dressed at all today and remained indecent. It didn't matter though, the raven considered them as the closest thing to 'family' he had, and only if the term was used loosely.  
The eldest might as well of rolled his eyes with the exasperated face he made. "Just dont knock over the tea if you are going to have sex on the table, i would rather not have to suffer for your mess." he sighed sipping coolly.  
Asmodeus grinned with a mischievous glint in his eye as he moved over to straddle Lucifer and take the cup out of his hand. "Are you feeling left out, Lucy? You know i enjoy you best. İm just so excited over seeing the kid again after so long. İts been since what, the bubonic plague?" he pouted setting the cup down far away from the edge of the table.  
"A decade after the end, yes. We lost track." he specified with a displeased, stern look.  
Asmodeus feigned an exaggerated sigh. "So long! But i still want you way, way more, Lucy." he said running his thumb over Lucifer's lower lip. "Please?"  
The brown haired man sighed and pushed the blonde lust demon off of his lap with a grunt. The raven couldn't help but snigger inwardly as Asmodeus begged like a dog, half naked on the floor clutching Lucifer's knees to look up at him with a childish pouty face. Their antics never changed. After a long stretch of pitiful looks, Lucifer reached down to grasp Asmodeus' throat and kiss him roughly. He dominated the shorter man that knelt before him with an almost violent embrace. İt took quite a few moments before he released the gasping blonde and retrieved his tea.  
The raven smiled at the obvious triumph glittering in his master's eye. Lucifer was a hard man to get. He was still proud, strong, and a bit arrogant like he was in the old times, the age before The Fall. İts almost as if he believed retaining his angelic personality that he might retain his dignity as well. You had to grovel to stroke his ego, but not too much or he would become angered by being reminded of what they used to be. As far back as the fall, Asmodeus was the only man skilled enough to seize his attentions.  
"I think the kid feels left out now." his blonde master chuckled turning to see the small smile that had been so characteristic of him long ago. He had truly lost it until Aiko came along... And now his mentor was back.  
Lucifer shook his head with mild exasperation. "You are a pitiful one track minded creature, Asmo." he said pouring himself another glass.  
The man mentioned just grinned happily and leaned up to mouth Lucifer's crotch through the velvet fabric. When no resistance met him, he moved aside the robe and proceeded to expertly suck him off. Lucifer's face changed a little but only if you knew him well enough would you be able to notice the slight shift in his countenance, and the raven had known him a long time. "So" Lucifer spoke evenly while he carded his finger through blonde locks. "Your child, Aiko is having her first performance next week?" he said as if nothing was wrong with getting a blow job while you were talking to someone else.  
"Mmm, yes. She will be one of the backup dancers in Lully's little midday concert next Sunday." the raven replied sipping his tea with an amused smile. "It's too bad she won't be performing with L'Roi this time around." he offered a bit curiously.  
The older nodded absently. "Louis is a good dancer, for a gorgio." he smiled jokingly.  
"Well, if we were all gypsies we would not be here at the moment, would we?" Lucifer raised a contradictory brow. "Point taken. But only human nomads can be gypsies and we dont fit that criteria." he amended.  
Lucifer nodded agreement. "Blood lines aside, this is an interesting place to stop. İ was almost tempted to move on but Asmodeus begged to stay for one of the King's dances. İ tell you, L'Roi Danse. İ find his 'balance' intriguing." he paused a moment then added: "and if we were all what are blood dictated, you would be very sedentary and i-"  
Suddenly, to cut off that train of down spiraling thought, Asmodeus sped up his ministrations and made Lucifer cum with a light grunt. He eagerly swallowed the ejaculated semen before pulling away to clean up any missed spots and put the robe back in its proper place. "Tastes like cake." he chuckled licking his lips hungrily with a pleased glance at his student.  
"Then share it, you greedy thing" he smirked back knowing his master was showing off and effectively controlling the situation.  
Lucifer sighed again. "Then let them have cake!" Asmodeus exclaimed sitting back in his chair.  
The raven smiled pulled his master over to thoroughly invade his mouth with his tongue. Once he had a good taste of the salty (yet angelically sweet) flavour of Lucifer, he pulled away and ran his tongue along his lower lip. "Hmm, you are rather sweet, Lucifer." he drawled.  
The man mentally face palmed at the antics. "Honestly, i feel like i am in the company of sex deprived children." he lamented half seriously. "Back to the topic. We will make sure we attend her performance."  
The raven nodded his head graciously. "Thank you. İ am sure she will appreciate your support." he said looking down at his cup.  
"Besides, i am very curious about her. You wouldn't mind telling me how you came to be living with a human child, especially one so noble?" he continued eyeing the man who eluded his gaze.  
He chuckled softly. "In all actuality, Aiko is an abandoned Nepali street rat Undertaker brought home. Lost puppies tend to want lost puppy friends." the raven haired demon smirked. The Undertaker did resemble a puppy those stupid, dumb creatures. "So i took on the job of caring for the delusional child and raised her like royalty. She has gotten quite spoilt recently, though." he summed up shortly.  
"Rags to riches, hm? Do you plan on consuming her?" Asmodeus cut in, evidently finding humour in the abridged truth.  
The brunette nodded his head with a sharp eye. "Yes, what are your plans for the child?" Lucifer asked with a serious yet amused look on his face. This meant he was easily tipped because he expected a certain answer but wanted to hear you out first.  
The raven smiled easily. "I plan on raising her into something special and then take her. This way i can shape my meal personally." he answered smoothly avoiding an apocalypse. Luckily he was a wonderful devilish liar and Lucifer smiled his approval warmly. Light hearted banter filled the remainder of their afternoon tea, nothing serious or encroaching upon bad topics. The time soon came to bid goodnight to his masters so that he could pick Aiko up from Danse. "I will come again next time i am free, Asmo." the raven promised them with gentle kisses before he vanished.  
A considerable distance away the Shinigami poised outside the door of the Danse Academé looked at the suddenly manifested demon with the sad eyes of a kicked puppy. He had been acting like a sulking child since the raven left him to wake up alone the night after their first mildly consensual encounter in a long time. Undertaker couldn't really be that upset over the little rebellion, the demon thought to him. Not that he cared really if Undertaker was happy or not. So the now fully clothed raven stood next to his silent partner and waited patiently to escort their child back to the rooms.  
And, to their surprise, she did not come out. After an eternity of waiting it was mutually understood to enter and check up on her. Neither said a word as they slipped unnoticed through the doors, quieter than the plague. İnside and off in a spare room they found Aiko struggling frustratedly with her form. They watched as she pulled up on her toes gracefully to glide across a short distance. Her curved paths like the orbit of the heavens became faster. Small embellishments gave way to an attempted swirl at point. That was her flaw. The slight way her ankle was positioned stripped her of her balance. Her feet could not properly recover that way to allow the full flourish of completion. An angry growl practically ripped from her lips as she practiced the maneuver again to the same results.  
Compelled to help her and return a small smile to her face, the raven shucked off his overcoat onto the Undertaker and strode up to her. She did not greet him but her eyes fastened to his feet. The demon copied her routine with more perfection and beauty than she; minding to pull in his foot at the right angle and continue the intended arc she could not complete. He came to rest next to her for a moment before both moved together as one. Her gaze never left his feet she was trying so desperately to emulate. The first of these she stumbled, the second she minutely faltered, the third she twirled off it in tandem with her Angel. But no smile came.  
"dear Mary, that was beautiful." a female voice lilted in. "where did you come by such grace?" the demon turned to see a young Frenchwoman, sturdy built but thin as a willow branch, standing in the doorway next to Undertaker. Behind her stood a lively looking man who stood with a hand on the shinigami's dark swathed shoulder with an intrigued look on his features.  
The demon bowed his respects and gratitude at the compliment. "Mon Cherie, thank you. İ learned in Austria with my daughter during our visit to Schönbrunn." he replied with a silky smooth voice. He knew Aiko was feeling awe for this woman in the way her eyes showed adulation and jealousy watching her come forward to greet them closer.  
The woman was quite handsome. Blonde haired and green eyed with the obvious body of a well-practiced dancer. Ah, she must either be a troupe member or a teacher here, he surmised. A warm smile graced the lips gently kissing her proffered delicate hand. She looks extremely pleased with his gentlemanly demeanor. "Monsieur Éclair, i have heard so much of you... But the thought you were so proficient in Danse along with the rumors of perfection, i had not believed such until now. Your form is flawless! I must put stock in the tales from now on." she gushed in compliment. So the city was flush with talk of him? How flattering. The woman gasped and smiled apologetically when she realized she had forgotten her manners. "Socre bleu, im sorry! My name is Michelle and this man hiding back by who i presume is Monsieur Fête is our founding director, Monsieur François Gallant Du Désert." Michelle introduced urging the grinning man forward.  
With a clasp of hand and kisses of the cheek, François unleashed his praise. "I am with many dancers, almost as wonderful as our great Roi, and you simply washed them all away in a single maneuver! Mon Cher, would you consider joining us for the duration of your stay? We would relish having such a man in our troupe! Le Roi would be pleased to see you perform with us." the dancer and music director propositioned earnestly.  
The demon shook his head doubtfully. "Non, i am very busy helping my daughter." he declined politely. Who knew how long they would last here anyways. Hopefully not long and under favorable circumstances, the raven thought somberly. "Though, if you are found in great need, i would be pleased to assist you if my schedule permits." the demon promise with a hypnotizing smile.

"Very well, we hope you change your mind in time, monsieur Éclair" the Musical entertainer smiled disappointedly. His shoulders slumped a little but it didn't wipe away the strong twinkle in his eye that alighted upon Aiko. "dear child, you fixed your form well… You will do well on front row." Du Désert revealed to her just before whisking his dancer girl away through the door.

It was priceless to see how Aiko's face lit up under the strain of her composed mask. Despite her efforts to conceal her excitement were belied by the slight upturn tugging the corner of her mouth and the new light radiating from her trembling figure. She was moved to first row! What an accomplishment in such a short period of study! How proud he was could not begin to be expressed in words. The raven could only simply gather her up warmly to bring her back to their rooms. He was utterly delighted at the achievement.

They passed through the brightly illuminated halls like Gods, it seemed to an observing spectator. Two pale young men who reflected as much light as a mirror; one the embodiment of perfection in a renaissance gentleman while the other flaunted an ephemeral form, always in places no one had seen him approach, and veiled by his unsightly wigged bangs. The two strange men who supposed themselves French but only one had spoken the language, though it was gorgeous beyond fluency. Then betwixt the two Gods strutted the mysterious child. She was certainly more human than her guardians yet so inconceivably cold that she seemed to fit them, though there were screaming subtle differences. She was not a phantom beauty that manifested at will, she had faults, she openly spoke broken French with her instructors, and she was… the only real way to describe her deviation was in a simile. Her guardians were fine swords of art; Éclair forged from magma and cooled in Russian winter, Fête from human breath and the clouds of heaven above the English islands. Both crafted by the same gifted hand. Then mademoiselle Aiko was made long after by an artist seeking to copy the original out of earth and slowly melting ice. That was their crucial divergence beyond appearances. The young girl was a well done parody of the wrong substance.

The musing shadow was awakened from his conclusive analysis by a royal courtier spotting him. "Roi Louis, your daily practice is awaiting you, Baptiste says." The old man spoke in a reserved manner.

The King eyed the old bore listlessly, Another man who cared naught for him and pined for his late mother's conservative ways. "and he sent you to fetch me?" Louis asked in a mockery of his upright tone.

"n-no, only to inform you, Sire." He replied quickly. So even he hid petulance still, the King clucked. With a whir of golden cloth he set off in the opposite direction he was begged to go. He would not be meeting with Lully today or anytime conceivably soon. No matter for dance or private. There was a new person he wanted: Éclair. There was a new nagging of knowledge to be found in that man. Something not right but yet irresistible to lay claim on... to be unraveled like his subjects had been.

It was only a matter of time.

Madam:

Hello, chickadees. Are you interested yet? The plot thickens as the stationary demon draws attention in all tenses. What is Louis XIV's problem, you ask? Let me give you a bit of history. He was raised practically forgotten by his father and controlled by his mother until he received the crown at (16) where he basically said that he was in control and nobody else. No one thought he could do it when he booted out his mother and her cronies from the Government. A year prior to the current date in the story line, she died of breast cancer after chewing him out about not being conservative and having too many hoes.

Now, Jean-Baptiste Lully is important to us. This guy was an Italian Francophile who wanted nothing more than to be a_ French _leader of music in the royal court. He was one of the fathers of the King's beautiful musical dance career and the Father of French Opera. At first, he said it was not ganna happen but, like with comical plays, he gave in. why does the King have problems with his favoured composer that he personally employed and enjoyed? Well, he's really gay… like homosexual and not really happy. His discovered blunders lead to a cold shoulder treatment by the King, a man he likened to a superior friend. From what I have learned I take the weeaboo excuse and say it was sexual tension, politics, old friendship, and religion.

We have a long A/N here so ill just leave it at that~~~ more background info on Versailles Palace life later!


	9. frozen fire

Frozen fire

The young Nepali girl was chatting detachedly with a few of the older dancers participating in tomorrow's performance with her. Many were giving their congratulations, some jealously through their teeth, on her awarded front row position. All through it her face remained perfectly composed and pasted with a courteous smile. The observing demon could hardly understand. Was she not excited?

The demon's mouth pulled down at the edges momentarily as he watched. He was standing on the far wall overseeing the dress rehearsal with Du Desert and Michele as a supportive figure for Aiko. Not that he knew if she even realized he had not left. Aiko was just acting too unreadable for some reason. It was really beginning to worry him.

Baptiste strode into the room with dark rings under his eyes and snapped at the loitering dancers to get in position. The instrumentals immediately straightened up under his foul mood and readied themselves. Jean slammed his heel into the ground, one hand clutching his precious violin as the other rose impatiently to claim all attention. Everyone held their positions in anticipation of his Que. Finally, the İtalian brought his hand down in a sharp motion that started the song.

Once again his attention was brought back to Aiko. She swayed forth on her toes well, swishing her skirts in time with the others around her. The young girl did well maintaining the relative balance of spaces they were taught to keep at all times. It seemed her fourth step was never remembered though, she was half a second late every time. But she did wonderful alongside the humans. It made her caretaker/angel proud. The only problem was her demeanor.

Her expression was empty, her limbs were too stiff, and she had no emotion whatsoever. The raven could not understand. Aiko's dancing used to be free. She used to visibly enjoy going out and doing things with everyone. Aiko had not even visited the kitchens here nor did she ever do more than keep practice dates! It was almost as if Versailles had completely changed her... Ever since she recovered from the fire... The demon had noticed things. He did not know if Undertaker noticed it but one never knew with the shinigami.

The Violinist grimaced. His eyes were shrewdly assessing the dancers and his ears trained on the band players. Every little musical mistake was pointed out immediately and berated without mercy. The brunette man was fixated on perfection as his mind wandered. You would see him twitch when he snapped himself back into reality. The demon found the behaviour quite interesting to watch. He had not really seen the man like this before so he had no inkling what may have put him into this mood. Something very close to home, certainly, since it possessed his mind so strongly. A man perhaps?

A long nailed hand brushed against his coat sleeve lightly, drawing the demon's attention to the funeral director next to him. The man pretended to look behind him at the twirling dancers as if he were not there. That was when he caught it. A pink silk ribbon was coming loose from a second row girl's bun. The undertaker sniggered quietly as it drifted down to disaster. They turned quickly to side step with a straight locked point on the foot that was not touching down. The plain faced girl next to her slid on it, her ankle twisting as the momentum kept her going. In a flash of black she was falling into the strange man's arms instead of connecting to the floor. Her eyes met with beautiful mahogany ones and she nearly gasped. All the dancers around them jumped back in confusion before realizing what just happed.

Lully cut off the music with temporarily wide eyes. The dancers took the injured girl from the raven to a seat by the wall. It was amazing how fast they had forgotten that the girl's savior had not been humanly capable of moving to her aide so quickly. They were far too concerned with the girl herself.

The Italian cursed to himself looking over at the blonde woman. He was even more frustrated now. "Can you still dance?" he asked brusquely. The dancer shook her head no, looking down at her swelling ankle with tears pricking at her chocolate eyes. Baptiste's eyes darkened as he stomped to the side of the room and engaged Du Desert in worn out questioning. "Do you have any understudies for this?"

The French born man shook his head. "This is the whole group, including our one understudy. I have no one else who knows this." Gallant answered him honestly, with a touch of personal irritation towards Lully.

"No one at all?" he asked again in agitation.

This time Michele spoke up. "Other than ourselves. But i am too thin for Francisca's dress; her chest is broader than mine. I would not fit." she explained in detail pointing to where it would fall everywhere.

Just as Lully looked ready to punch a hole through a wall, a cackle sent shivers up their spines. The entire room, including the demon, turned to see the silver haired shinigami smiling hugely. None of them, with the exception of Aiko and the raven, had ever heard him make a sound much less so loud. The man was known for being evanescent at best. "Fête knows." he laughed in passable French.

The demon blanched on the inside while outwardly just making a questioning face. Lully cast a skeptic-and hopeful- look towards him. "Is that true, Mon ami?" the room waited for his affirmative nod. Before he could open his mouth to quickly voice his rejection of the implied request, Michele interrupted with her approval.

"Aha! That is true! And your chest is broader than mine, perhaps just enough to make up for her bosom!" Michele exclaimed happily looking back over him to size his body up.

Gallant lit up in excitement. "Oui, and you offered if we were in need. What do you say?" he added to his reasons to feel obligated to comply.

The raven really wanted to decline and tear out the Undertaker's heart for suggesting this in the first place. What was he up to? Trying to make fun of him certainly. The man that had sucked him off not too long ago gave him an imploring look at the hesitation. "Please, monsieur, if we do not have someone to fill the position it will upset the balance and we have not the time to adjust the dancers to a new routine." Jean Baptiste Lully nudged. Insinuating he would condemn their performance if he did not agree. Very low... But Aiko had been working hard for this. The demon glanced at her lingeringly. Her face was blank but for a broken look in her eyes. It was too important to her.

The raven haired man shook his head in submission. "Alright, i will do it." he agreed finally to the relief of the three artists.

Lully grinned as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Then we will go through it a few times again for you and afterwards we will try on the dress. Mademoiselle, will you fetch it?" he bid Michele who went immediately to the uniform room. "Do step right- well, stay where you are actually, since you have not moved." the curly haired man joked.

His hand rose in time with the strike of his heel and started the music once again. The demon blended his timing with the group, minding tweak his movements to mirror theirs more. Aiko was right in front of him to where he noticed her downward slouch that appeared out of nowhere, making her dancing look depressed. Was she okay? He did not dwell long on it when his gaze caught the attentive brown of Lully's stare. The demon could feel the undercurrent of lust the scrutiny revealed within Baptiste. The demon shot him a sultry smirk that unsettled him little... Above the pant line. It was obvious he was hot under the collar to the demon.

After the regular dancers were dismissed, Lully took the bundle of clothes from Michele and turned a bit disappointed to see Aiko and Undertaker still in the room. "Aiko, it is not proper for a young woman to watch a man change who is her guardian. Naughty girl." he joked lightly, urging her to leave.

When neither she nor Undertaker moved to leave, the demon sighed. His day was long enough already. "Eclair, please take Aiko back to our room." he ordered. The shinigami gave him a hard look but smiled sickly sweet before taking her with him. "I will be back soon." the raven promised.

A huge suggestive smile stretched across Lully's features the moment the doors shut. The demon reluctantly returned it by nature. "Alone at last." he laughed softly. "Now strip so we can get this on you." he said setting the pieces out on a chair.

Unable to refuse since it would be questionable how he could lace a corset on himself, he began removing everything. The human looked at him hungrily as he gradually worked down to nothing. "Like what you see, Baptiste?" the demon teased.

The man grinned lustily. "Call me Jean... Now into this." he held up the 'caleons de precaution' which the demon snagged and stepped into. Next was the corset and petticoats, which the Italian used as an opportunity to breathe down his neck and rub against him lightly. The man was skilled enough certainly.

The skirts and overdress were shrugged on and belted as they finished. The other man stepped back a few feet to get a good look at him. "It fits you perfectly..." he appraised. Then his hands dropped seriously. "I hate it on you."

The demon raised his dark brow and asked indulgently. "Why so?"

Lully smiled softly and moved to kiss him hard on the mouth, catching his shoulders in a strong grip. The demon leaned his head down to make up the few centimeter height difference as the Italian violinist impatiently began removing his clothes. In the end, the corset stayed on and the demon pushed the man up against a wall, wanting to hurry back before anyone missed him. He pulled the man's legs up to wrap around his waist after tugging down his breeches.

The brunette clutched the white wig the demon wore tightly and threw it to the ground, much to the owner's dismay. He would have to fix that later. Fingers pulled roughly on his midnight locks as the demon entered smoothly and began thrusting. Lully moaned, moving to ravish the pale neck before him to keep quiet. The demon immediately pounded into his prostate and sped up. One hand went down to tug gently on the other's member between them causing Lully to moan even louder. Both of their bodies were sweating and the raven was surprised he was not destroying the corset by thrusting despite its whalebone backbone.

The musician found climax and fell limp in the demon's arms who finished up a minute later. The human slid down the wall and slipped his lids shut contently. While the man had his eyes closed, basking in the afterglow of sex, the raven quickly removed the corset and arranged the dress components neatly so that he was getting dressed in his normal wear when Jean opened his eyes. "Leaving so soon?" he questioned simply. He moved to get back on his feet and right his trousers.

The raven nodded. "I have to get back and join them for dinner." he answered.

The curly brunette pursed his lips in thought, accepting his impending departure as he watched him straighten his coat. "Can i ask you a question?" he asked finally. The raven flipped his hand to go on. "... Aiko and you two are not related, are you? And you are not really French either. Who are you?" he went on to ask slowly, looking the demon square in the eye.

Oh so smart, human. The demon chuckled inwardly; it was a stupid blatant lie anyways. They banked on no one daring to question it. "Very well. A demain, Jean" he smiled walking to the door.

"Wait! You did not answer me." Lully called after him indignantly.

The perfect man smiled sweetly, turning to cast him a look of amusement. "I said you could ask, i never said i would answer." the demon replied coldly, strolling out of the room leisurely. Time to catch up and change Aiko out of her practice dress and into one less sweaty and fit for supper. He sped up when he was sure no one could see and arrived at their door.

Inside he found the Undertaker waiting for him with crossed arms and an accusory scowl etched on his visible lower face. "You have a little problem with your hair." the silverette stated simply, packing all his jealous anger into that plain sentence.

The raven smoothed his sex tousled hair down as he berated himself for forgetting. Not that he cared if Undertaker knew he was having sex. He could bed anyone he felt like and it would be no business of the shinigami's! Seriously. He gave him a haughty look to convey his feelings on the matter. "Dress fits wonderfully. Is Aiko ready to change?" the demon asked with a smirk, letting his fingers find his mouth to lick them mockingly. The Undertaker's lips twitched in silent anger.

Another loopy smile pasted itself on the shinigami's face as he gave an exaggerated sweeping bow. "Right this way, kitty~" Undertaker gestured to the double doors leading to her separate room.

"Thank you, you are being so helpful today." he thanked acidicly.

The silver haired man just smiled and shook his head as if he was modest about his endeavors and the demon fought back a sneer as he made his way to Aiko's room. He threw open the doors to find Aiko in her under drawers, staring intently at the mirror set in her wardrobe door. She had a disgusted frown on her face as she turned about in front of it. The raven smiled when she lashed around to lock gazes with her angel. "Are you ready to change for supper?" he asked coolly.

She nodded with a blank face, trying to remain emotionless. "Yes, i am." Aiko replied.

The older male obliged and moved behind her to tighten her corset and slip her into a newly sewn red dress. This one was made just last night, with swooping sashes across her shoulders and waist, drawing out to her backside to fall in cascades over her small caboose. He combed her hair up into a curly bun on top of her head with a silver barrette and a red bow. Aiko remained quiet the whole time as he made comments on how beautiful she looked in red. How clear her skin was. That she was so fair and wonderful in the things she did.

Upon finishing the routine, the demon caught her lingering gaze of disappointment at the mirror as he prodded her to depart. They joined with Undertaker at the set of doors leading to the hall and made their way out to supper like a wave of coalesced perfection. A flawless trio.

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

The next day around midday the girls and musicians were getting ready for the performance in an hour. In a separate room Jean-Baptiste was frowning at the silver haired man possessively hovering behind the naked raven. The demon rolled his eyes as he let the two fight over dressing him. The Undertaker eventually weirded out the Francophile Italian and claimed the task of lacing the corsets and skirts tightly, perhaps too tightly. It must have been a joke in his stupid silver head to crack a rib with his strength. The stupid shinigami even snickered at the glaring musician standing off to the side.

The Undertaker gave his behind a firm slap when he finished, looking directly at the Italian man. Lully fumed, storming from the room to the sound of the silverette's laughter. The demon shot the unabashed shinigami an annoyed look before pulling on a female wig that Lully had brought. "Please behave, Undertaker, do not be a child." he chastised, smoothing the curls into place.

The elder smiled innocently. "I am not a child, especially compared to him." Undertaker rebuked easily.

"Then act your age."

"Stop being a whore."

The demon turned to look icily at him. A whore? Coming from a sodomite rapist? Made complete sense! "Hold your presumptuous tongue. You have no room to speak! At least i perform my duties." the raven shot back. Honestly, he had been acting like a child all morning.

Did he think he would get something out of acting this way in public? The demon slipped on his shoes quickly. "I most assuredly have done more work in my time than a lazy dancer girl like you ever will, unless you count fucking everyone's sword in your sheath." the shinigami said evenly.

"We are not talking about this, shinigami." the demon looked away and headed out the door without a second glance. He joined the female dancers waiting around the adjacent room to the small throne room, waiting for Gallant to let them in. He was tired of the other male acting this way; could he not just get over it?

Many of the girls began blushing the moment he arrived in cross-dress. Others looked around to giggle with their neighbours as he floated over to place a kiss on Aiko's soft hand. "Good luck, though you do not need It." he smiled down on her impassive face. Aiko curtsied to him elegantly before casting her attention to Michele, who was smiling lewdly at her partner while gesturing to the demon. Her face darkened as she scanned all the gazes on her guardian.

"Aha!" Gallant suddenly cried out. He clapped to catch the room's attention, setting it into a frenzy of performers shuffling to their places. "Ready? And..." he held up his hand in patiently wait for a signal from inside. 3... 2... 1... "now!" he whispered, urging them through the door as the music started up.

Past the doors was a small audience watching with varied expressions as the women glided into the room to the music. First was the Roi Soleil sitting upon his gilded chair with a bored look on his face, merely following the sway of the dresses with his eyes. Then a few courtiers watching with politician's smiles, the current Queen smiling regally like she was supposed to, and two Demon Princes. They seemed to be the only two to recognize him, though who could tell about the strange humans, and it was a sight to see.

Asmodeus looks ready to Split his face in two from smiling hysterically at his child dancing in a woman's troupe. Then poor Lucifer was dumbfounded, caught between an embarrassed flush and a questioning look, his eyebrows raised in bewilderment. The second generation demon wanted to laugh at their reactions if not for many serious reasons not to.

As they twirled and danced their routine, Aiko before him seeming to be forcing it a bit while the girl two over kept landing a little too hard, he became aware of two stares besides his masters'. One was a sneaking Jean, but the other was more interesting. King Louis was scrutinizing him intently from his throne as if trying to pry him open in hopes of a mystical discovery. His eyes were as dull as before but the study he made of the raven was irrefutable. Just for fun, the demon locked gazes with him and let a small smirk play across his lips.

The King shifted in his seat with a pleased smile that immediately dropped when he glanced over at the observing Italian director. Then it came back almost haughtily, a tinge of spite colouring the edges. Oh how interesting this was turning out! The demon smiled inwardly at this display. This was something he had to ask about later.

Finally, the music ended and they all curtsied before exiting the room. To his disappointment, three immortals were already waiting for Aiko and him in the separate changing room. "My, my child! We did not know we were getting two in one. Your child and ours~!" the Blonde greeted bursting with amusement.

The raven smiled. "Aiko was the only one that mattered." he replied, taking her around behind the ornate changing screen to get her changed back into a less sweaty dress.

"Well, i do hope you give us more of a warning next time." Lucifer spoke in a serious tone. "And little Aiko did a fine job." he added in.

Under his hands that were busy securing her overdress, Aiko twitched ever so slightly. This confused the raven. Why did she react that way to a compliment? Lucifer did not even give out positive feedback most of the time... Not that she would know that. Regardless, she should be happier, should she not? He finished up and sent her out to thank the wavy haired brunette.

Instantly, Undertaker was behind him with his clothes to change into. "I would thank you if you had not broken a rib earlier, which is very bad service." the demon sneered quietly. He took the clothes and did not bother to flinch when fingers began speedily working on his dress strings. Within moments they were done and the raven came out from behind the screen a man again. "I do prefer this gender." he commented lightly.

"I beg to differ, i rather like-" Asmodeus stopped when Lucifer tapped his hand impatiently. "This one." he amended with a grin.

The doors flew open to an Italian man preparing to say something when he was overtaken by a page. "L'Roi wishes to speak privately with Monsieur Fête immediately in his office." the nameless page announced with a glare from the Violinist.

The Blonde Prince snickered quietly as the raven bowed his head to the request. "If my Roi asks. Please, excuse me for this." he kissed Aiko's cheek quickly and made his way to brush past Lully with a wink. The human just looked let down and let the raven be led away by the page. 

Dmitri: OK GUYS, THIS IS ALL YOU GET FOR NOW. I WONT BE UPDATING BECAUSE IM GOING AWAY TO WORK HARD LABOUR NEXT WEEK, WISH ME LUCK! OH AND YES I KNOW THAT WOMEN DIDNT PUBLICLY PERFORM UNTIL SIXTYNINE BUT THIS WAS SMALL AND I DONT REALLY COUNT IT AS PUBLIC ANYWAYS. BESIDES, YOU KNOW SEBBY IN A DRESS IS SEXY!  
ALSO, PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK IS GOING ON ;) I ALREADY HAVE IT PLANNED BUT I WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU GUYS THINK! I HAVE A POLL UP ON MY PROFILE FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO VOTE ON THEIR NEXT DESTINATION (YEAH THEYRE LEAVING EVENTUALLY AGAIN... CAN'T STAY IN ONE SPOT, CAN THEY?)  
AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO MY PANDA. SHE IS POSTING THIS UPDATE FOR ME AND I LOVVEZ HER SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS!


	10. the shinigami, jealous

The attendant led him through various halls that he vaguely knew until they reached a large door and he turned to give him a halting hand. The demon simply stayed where he was as the human swung open the ornate doors to reveal a sort of office that had another door to somewhere else. At the far wall near that very door sat a rather large desk accommodating stacks of papers obscuring delicate royal French hands, busy scribbling away with his feather pen. L'Roi looked up from his task and offered a small nod of recognition that the servant took as permission to let the guest in. the raven made to sit in a chair before the beautifully crafted desk, watching curiously as the King set aside the piece of paper he had been signing and set the quill back in its nest, waiting for the human to say something first.

He made a curt bow to him and was rewarded with a smile as the King leaned forward in his seat to place his hands comfortably on the crowded surface before him. "signieur Fete." He greeted.

"your Highness." The amused raven replied in kind as if this were a dance, a game of pleasantries.

Louis smiled with a short laugh, lacing his fingers together. "Congratulations on your well done first performance…" he waited for the raven to thank him profusely before continuing with his thoughts. "I have heard much about your posse and not had the chance to confirm them by meeting your acquaintance. So tell me, what is your story? I am anxious to hear where you acquired your considerable talents." The blond frivolous man demanded politely.

_Considerable talent?_ The raven silently resigned himself to finding out what was perfect and complete talent in France. It must be very high, he decided. "monsieur Éclair and I began travelling abroad at a young age when our parents sent us to a French boarding school where we met. After completing our education we went separate ways and met by chance in London, where I was absorbing English culture and styles of cooking while he was already working as a carpenter of great skill. In the same year we stumbled upon dear Aiko on a walk, she was a Nepali Princess that had been travelling with her family to consult their Monarch. The barbarious English allowed her to get lost on the streets and she was not found by my companion and me until the Royal couple had already departed in sorrowful tears. We took it upon ourselves to educate her in all ways of civilized life and ended up taking holiday in Schönbrunn Palace, Austria. She dazzled the widowed sovereign Duchess with her dance and violin. Feeling we had stalled far too long in taking her to our Fatherland, we departed for Versailles to teach her what a proper country was like." The demon lied smoothly. Perfection.

The richly dressed man nodded slowly, taking in the tale carefully. His eyes locked in mock confusion. "How did the mademoiselle fall ill on your journey back?" Louis XIV asked.

The demon did not have to make a show of looking concerned and guilty so much as letting his emotion slip into his demeanor. "there was a lot of travelling that she must not have taken well, regrettably." He answered.

An enthusiastic nod of his blonde head preceded his highly gesticulate speech. "what a shame," Louis lamented somewhat falsely, though he probably believed the words themselves to be true. "that such a talented femme should be brought up in uncouth lands! God be thanked that she was rescued by a good Frenchman." His eyes glimmered slightly. "but, you have said very little about yourself. Do tell me more of your attributes." The R was rolled a little too long to be casual.

Suspicions of interest were completely confirmed. The pompous King wanted to know something, that was certain. Was their façade not perfect? Of course not, the Undertaker was awful at pretending to even care about their identities. He had even called him by the wrong name the other day. Not to mention he used shadows to go everywhere, scaring the life out of the courtiers and servants all day. Aiko was well enough. Her broken French further proved the alibi that had been spun. "before Schönbrunn I fancied learning various foreign teas, cooking, the Viola and fashions, as I said. It has always been a hobby of mine, learning everything there is to know." The demon smiled dazzlingly at the interested human. "Austria brought about my taking on of the Fencing arts and architecture, along with poetry."

"ah, you must come from a royal family to be so gifted." The King casually commented but his keen interest in the answer was belied by his inclined position. The blonde Patriarch thought he was going to catch him red handed in his lies.

In a seamless flow of acting, the demon looked slightly guilty. "actually, you have me there. My father was an earl who was quite smitten with my mother, the servant of another noble." He pretended to confess in a very reluctant matter. "when he discovered my mama was heavy with his child he sent her away with sums of money to stay quiet about it. With the money she settled down with a tailor that had been working for her boss a long time… then she died in childbirth." Here he began looking off into the corner of the room, looking as if he were waiting to see his dead mother manifest there to confirm his sad tale.

The Roi danser opened his eyes in pity and suspicion. "who was this dishonorable noble?" he queried in mock indignation.

The raven opened his arms to the world in heavy hearted defeat. "I do not know, she had not told my step father before she died and he would not speak a word of their names." Pleading for sympathy was not the greatest thing in the world, but the man looked about ready to give in and believe the strange man.

Incredulously, he settled back in his seat. Yet he was not satisfied fully. "does this man have a name?"

"I only ever called him papa, and he sent me to boarding school quite early. I do not know his real name. it is quite awful and ungrateful, no?" he appealed.

"oui… I am sorry for your hardships of birth then." He smiled. Suddenly the air lightened and the moment was won by the immortal man. The royal had resigned himself to his progress so far for now. "I am glad to finally meet your undoubtedly entertaining acquaintance, monsieur. You must bring your… family with you and dine with me soon, perhaps go hunting?"

The demon smiled graciously. "the honor is all mine, your highness. We would love to comply to your wishes and join whenever you deem time." He said in a complimenting tone.

A funny smile crossed the human's moustache beset mouth. "have a nice afternoon, Éclair. You may return to your people now." Louis permissioned in a dismissive manner.

The wigged raven inclined his head in a gracious bow as he stood up to exit the room silently. Outside stood an impatient wavy haired blonde Frenchman wearing the standard uniform of the military. His stubbly face lit up with a mischievous smirk as he took in the slender man that passed by him. a lascivious looked passed over his features before the king called him in. "Francis!"

The demon furrowed his brow at the strange man and proceeded to run to his shared rooms, assuming the two others would be there. His schedule for the rest of the day was ticking off in his head. Aiko needed to go out and play the violin in the gardens for a while, perhaps out on the cobble courtyard. Then try to persuade her to visit the kitchens before dinner, dress her for dinner with her beautiful raven hair, have dinner, have her take a bath, then get her to bed was much to do.

To say that he was shocked when he quickly flickered into the room into a pair of waiting arms would be an understatement. A huge silver haired understatement. His back connected with the double bed with his wrists secured above his head, his brown wig slumping back to reveal midnight strands that contrasted with his milky skin. A pair of pale lips crashed into his brutally if not bruisingly. Silver strands blocked out all light . though he did not need any sort of vision to know who his attacker was. The shinigami broke for his precious air, giving the demon a chance to question his motives. "what do you think you are doing? Aiko will see!" he protested.

The silverette chuckled in a desultory manner, lowering himself down to the demon's clothed neck. "if that is your only complaint, I may happily inform you that Aiko is spending the afternoon with the dessert guy and his whore dancer." Undertaker began pulling the cravat loose with his teeth when he finished speaking. His lips then swiftly attacked the exposed flesh of the neck to litter sharp bites all over.

The raven struggled to release the hold on his wrists but was halted by the heavy weight of the black garbed shinigami straddling him. how was he already pulling open his shirt with that smiling mouth? "I have more reservations against this than that, and you very well know so." The demon bit his tongue to hold back a gasp as a hot mouth trailed slowly down his chest. It stopped here and there to nip at the sensitive pale skin of his breast. The demon grit his teeth and continued on. "why now?" he questioned his shorted query, not trusting his voice to remain even.

Undertaker's lip twitched irritably as he started alternating between sucking and nibbling a little spot on the raven haired man's collarbone. A short breath of a gasp escaped the demon's lips. "you are…" the demon huffed as he tried to think with his black heart beating so fast. "jealous I had Baptiste.. ah!" a surprised moan was ripped from his lips as the silverette sunk his teeth into the demon's shoulder.

Even though he was right, the demon gave up trying to get him mad. It wouldn't help anyways. The harmful lips travelled down his ribs to his navel in order to begin unbuttoning those. The shinigami made sure to nuzzle the covered crotch for extra frustration. Before he could register it in his mind, hands were tearing away the open clothes in a fetal swoop. Everything was soon gone and replaced with a burning heat beneath his skin that seared his flesh and bone. A warm cavern engulfed his member briefly before drawing back to lick the crown teasingly.

The demon tried to sit up in retaliation but was caught in a passionate and dominating kiss immediately as the coffin carver bolted up to assume his position above the raven. One hand quickly worked his own pants off while the other clutched the black locks tightly in grasp to hold the victim still. Then the Undertaker broke away briefly to spit in his own hand to slick himself before claiming the unwilling mouth once more. His damp hand soon joined to other one after a few quick successive strokes to get it considerably lubed. No time was wasted in _slowly_ entering the demon, who released a guttural groan as he was filled.

"ah.. kitty, you're so tight…" the Undertaker breathed a sigh of- was that relief?

The demon crinkled his perfect brows in annoyance. "of course, I do not bottom.." he retorted, insulted the shinigami currently penetrating him was so concerned about the demon being entered by someone else. The idiot raped him, that was the only reason he was on the receiving end. Not that he would want to have sex with the stupid shinigami. He jeopardized everything in his useless life!

A low moan escaped the raven's prted lips as the silverette finally began moving inside of him. he could not help but thread his fingers into those moonstruck locks and deepen the resumed lip lock. It was amazing that the shinigami knew his body well enough to immediately locate his prostate. It was incredible… But awful because it was him. damn, this insufferable god of death could vacillate between extremes. One day he would be sweeter than the Sultan's baklava, then the next, snip your heart to literal shreds as he violently raped you a room away from your collective charge.

The feel of tongue was all he could taste, or recognize as his body built up to climax from the constant stimulation. His own abused member was rubbing mercilessly against the fabric of Undertaker's coat as he thrust swiftly into the body beneath him. The silverette came first inside of him, then bent down to quickly finish off the demon with his hand.

The raven flopped his damp head down on the tousled wig on the bed in a huff. Undertaker merely chuckled and made to lay beside the demon, gathering his unresponsive body in a warm embrace, tucking his head under a well defined jaw. "see? That was fun, kitty~" Undertaker commented serenely.

Depriving the insane man of his weird cuddling moment after raping him, the demon rolled off the bed and organized the discarded clothes strewn about the room where they had been flung. The silverette whined childishly so the demon left the room to draw a hot bath to clean up in. he needed to be immaculate when Aiko came back to the room.

"why are you so stiff?" came a sing song voice from the door as the demon bent over to fill the tub in the nude.

He sighed heavily. "why do you concern yourself with me?" he countered.

Undertaker got serious. "we have a contract."

"that you will not hold up. Not to mentions it has nothing to do with who I choose to bed." This guy had no idea what a lust demon was required to do, did he? It isn't like he could stop having sex with many people.

A silence fell momentarily. "you are mine until you give me a first rate laugh." The Undertaker clarified in a defeated voice.

The demon ignored him further as he climbed into the hot water tub. The shinigami made no move to join him but remained in the doorway, watching. He looked as if he was debating something serious… his smile had a sad and guilty edge to it. As if he was feeling bad about not saying whatever was on his mind.

Neither of them spoke for the rest of the night. The next words were uttered in the early morning at sunrise. "Aio still has not returned…"

_**Dmitri: Well, school has started. I will be updating everything at a lethatgic\non existant pace. I want to write an original story of my own but I am not sure I will have time for a while.**_

_**Anyways, tell me your thoughts; where is Aiko? What is with Louis? Why is Taka being all weird about the whole deal? And predictions having to do with the Princes of Hell~**_

_**Reviews get IOUs for my already pawned soul… or ecstasy laced cookies. Your choice.**_


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